IMG Sports Media has signed a deal to produce horse racing coverage on UK commercial broadcaster Channel 4 for four years, from January 2013 to December 2016.
IMG will replace Highflyer as Channel 4’s production partner for horse racing.
Channel 4 launched the production tender in March after acquiring free-to-air rights from the Racecourse Media Group for the Royal Ascot, Derby, Grand National and British Champions Day horse racing events from 2013 to 2016.
Channel 4 outbid incumbent rights-holder, UK public-service broadcaster the BBC, to acquire the rights.
IMG said that BBC Sport’s senior programme editor, Carl Hicks, would be joining the agency as executive producer of horse racing coverage on Channel 4.