Sky Sports Racing, which is set to become the new identity for pay-television channel At The Races, has today (Tuesday) signed a rights deal with Ascot Racecourse, replacing rival Racing UK as the pay-television partner for the leading British venue.
From March 2019, Ascot’s 25 annual fixtures will be broadcast on the new Sky Sports Racing channel, which is set to launch in January.
The agreement will run until at least 2021, with Sky Sports Racing also managing UK streaming for betting rights for the racecourse. Ascot had previously been shown on At The Races before joining Racing UK in 2014.
Juliet Slot, chief commercial officer at Ascot, who led the racecourse’s media and data rights review, said: “We’ve chosen them because of the significant investment and commitment to the sport that they have demonstrated, the brand alignment and cross promotional opportunities that come with the major sports that Sky covers, and the fact that Sky Sports Racing is available in more than 14 million homes.”
Ascot’s free-to-air partner is commercial broadcaster ITV under its four-year deal, which runs from 2017 to 2020, encompassing nearly 100 days of racing each year, including Royal Ascot.