Why ITV don’t show the last two races at Cheltenham Festival | Racing | Sport
It’s that time of year once more when horse racing enthusiasts across the nation open their wallets and treat themselves to the Cheltenham Festival. Approximately 250,000 people will flock to the Gloucestershire racecourse, with the festival tracing its origins back to 1860.
Those who aren’t able or privileged enough to secure a ticket will watch ITV’s four-day broadcast of the globally renowned event, with some individuals even known to book time off work so they can follow every moment of the action in what represents one of the biggest weeks in the UK’s annual sporting calendar. In millions of homes throughout the country, fans will watch to join presenter Ed Chamberlain and his expert panel of specialists including former jockeys AP McCoy and Ruby Walsh and former horse breeder and trainer Francesca Cumani to hear their selections for the day in each of the festival’s seven races. But one question remains on most punters’ lips: Why do ITV only broadcast five of the seven races each day at the world’s most prestigious horse racing spectacle?
The explanation is quite straightforward, really. Broadcasting regulations don’t permit them to televise any more. Racing TV, which was established in 2004, exclusively holds the rights to the two final meetings of the day, which take place at 4.50pm and at 5.30pm.
Previously known as Racing UK, the channel is part of the Racecourse Media Group Ltd and also has a total of 34 racecourses among its shareholders. Racing TV holds exclusive broadcasting rights to the nation’s most prestigious racecourses, including all five venues in Scotland: Ayr, Hamilton Park, Kelso, Musselburgh and Perth.
It stands as one of Britain’s two principal horse racing television outlets, competing solely with Sky Sports’ specialist racing channel.
Overall, Racing TV broadcasts more than 70 per cent of all live horse racing from Britain and Ireland, encompassing nearly 90 per cent of all Group and Graded contests.
The broadcaster has additionally expanded its coverage through its newly launched Racing TV Extra service, which offers subscribers dedicated feeds from individual racecourse meetings through streaming and OTT television platforms.
Nevertheless, the key limitation is that the channel is not available on terrestrial television and is consequently not free to air. Unless you currently hold a sports channel subscription with Sky, enthusiasts hoping to watch the final two races of the afternoon at Cheltenham may need to visit their local bookmakers to view the remainder of the race programme.
Alternatively, supporters can monitor the proceedings on one of the bookmaker’s online betting platforms, which naturally require you to place a minimum 50p wager on the race before gaining access to their live stream of Racing TV’s broadcast of the fixture.
As the 2024 festival prepares for its third day, another afternoon of drama, surprises and heartbreak is anticipated as punters across the nation dream of securing life-changing winnings or simply a pleasant boost to their bank balances ahead of the weekend.
