Racing welcomes new four-year deal with ITV

ITV has agreed a new four-year deal to broadcast free-to-air coverage of UK horse racing from 2027 until the end of 2030.

The new agreement takes ITV’s position as racing’s terrestrial partner beyond 10 years, with live action on ITV1, ITV4 and STV, with all programming available to be streamed on ITVX.

Niall Sloane, ITV director of sport, said: “This is a vital deal for ITV Sport and UK horse racing, ensuring the very best fixtures across the UK are available free-to-air on ITV until 2030.

“We are proud to deliver so much live coverage of this incredible sport and would like to thank Racecourse Media Group, the Jockey Club, Arena Racing Company, Ascot Racecourse and our other partners, and we look forward to continuing our relationship for years to come.”

The Cheltenham Festival in March saw its biggest peak audience for four years with a high of 1.8 million on Gold Cup day, while the Derby recorded its biggest audience for two years, peaking with 1.3 million.

Brant Dunshea, acting chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, said: “This is excellent news for British racing. ITV have shown themselves to be first class broadcast partners, not only in terms of the quality of their coverage but in bringing more and more racing to mainstream terrestrial audiences.

“It is also exciting to consider what the future can hold in terms of working together around innovation in the broadcast experience, with growth in engagement with racing and attracting and retaining our audiences being a core area of focus for the sport’s industry strategy.”