Australian commercial broadcasters Seven, Ten and Nine are interested in acquiring rights to horse racing events operated by the Racing Queensland body.
Pay-television broadcaster Sky currently holds the rights, with a decision over the new contract expected by April. Australian news agency AAP said Sky has bid to retain its rights, while Racing.com, which has rights in Victoria and South Australia, is also interested.
Seven, which broadcasts carnival racing from Sydney and operates a free-to-air channel in association with Racing.com, is said to keen on bolstering its portfolio. Ten is reportedly seeking to add Queensland racing to its roster, which includes the Melbourne Cup, while Nine is said to be keen to revert back to the time it had a major presence in racing.
Racing Queensland chief executive Brendan Parnell said he couldn’t identify bidders due to privacy clauses. However, he added: “But I can confirm there has been interest from the three free-to-air networks.”