Britain's 12 leading racecourses have entered exclusive negotiations which will secure the future of horse racing on terrestrial television, it emerged today.
The 'Super 12' as they are known and a consortium of the BBC, Channel 4 and Premium TV, a subsidiary of ntl Incorporated, reached provisional agreement on a deal in excess of £200 million for the rights to televise racing.
The parties concerned aim to finalise details of the contract in the coming weeks.
The deal under discussion, which would run for 10 years, covers worldwide rights - including terrestrial television, interactive TV and internet - to all racing at the Super 12 group of British racecourses. It will guarantee continued terrestrial coverage of Britain's premier races and race meetings.
In addition to the rights payment, the media partners will provide marketing support to a value of £25m over the 10 years.
This is a massive boost for the industry as terrestrial television rights are currently worth £6-£7m a year to racing.
David Hillyard, managing director of Racecourse Holdings Trust and acting chairman of the 'Super 12' courses, said: "This is a ground-breaking opportunity to forge a unique partnership which embraces the best of existing and new media platforms.
"The emphasis on telling the British racing story even more effectively to a worldwide audience, and strengthening the marketing and cross-promotion of the sport, is particularly good news and will open up an exciting new era for our racing industry."
The Jockey Club is the parent company of RHT, which is responsible for seven of the 'Super 12' tracks.
Peter Savill, chairman of the British Horseracing Board, commented: "I'm delighted that a basic agreement between the major racecourses and a very professional group of media companies has been reached although final details have still to be worked out.
"It was important to move quickly on this issue to secure racing's finances and the 12 racecourses have negotiated an excellent deal from which all sections of racing will benefit."
BBC director of television Alan Yentob said: "This is a great deal for racing fans. The Super 12 racecourses have taken an imaginative decision that will secure a bright future for racing in the digital age.
"The partnership of Channel 4, ntl and the BBC will create a powerful alliance, which will deliver new opportunities for racing on every broadcast platform.
"The big events, which draw the nation as a whole into racing, like the Grand National, Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood, will continue to enjoy the highest profile on the BBC."
Channel 4's managing director, David Scott, added: "Channel 4 has been at the forefront of televised horseracing for 14 years and we are delighted by the prospect of playing a prominent role in what promises to be an exciting future.
"This is an extremely informative deal that will make best use of the opportunities opened up by new technology to ensure racing prospers in a digital environment."
Geoffrey Hamilton-Fairley, chief executive of Premium TV, said: "This partnership brings together the best players to deliver the best future for televised horseracing. It is also further evidence of PTV's commitment to develop innovative sports content for digital platforms.
"We recently announced a deal with BBC Sport and BBC Worldwide to jointly develop the BBC Sport Library and we welcome the opportunity to work with Channel 4 and the racing industry."
Sky was the original front runner in the deal to televise racing from the 'Super 12' but the satellite company pulled out citing racing's apparent prevarication as the main reason.
The 'Super 12' courses are Aintree, Ascot, Cheltenham, Doncaster, Epsom, Goodwood, Haydock, Kempton, Newbury, Newmarket, Sandown and York.
