At the Races to Close on Sky in Feb?

Hobart

Plagerised from the Satelite Board:

Attheraces could close on Feb 21
This is a complicated article but I think it could mean that ATR might be wound up on February 21st.

From Racing Post

http://www.racingpost.co.uk

Termination time looms for attheraces contract


by Howard Wright



BRITISH racing's single biggest media rights' deal - the ten-year contract between Attheraces and 49 racecourses, which is due to deliver a total of £307 million over the period – could be wound up on February 21.

It emerged on Wednesday that Attheraces gave the racecourses the statutory 90 days' notice to terminate the contract on October 20, after a clause connected to Tote betting margins was triggered.

That period runs out in a week’s time, when the consortium of Arena Leisure, BSkyB and Channel 4, which owns the media and betting company, has a further 30 days to decide whether to go ahead with the action.

Whether Attheraces goes the whole hog and calls time on the deal will depend on whether a compensatory deal can be negotiated in the meantime – and whether racecourses would accept far less money for their pictures.

Sources close to the action suggest that discussions which have already taken place in private have made very little progress towards averting the crisis, although many racecourses have not become aware of the seriousness of the situation until the last few days.

The biggest consequence facing the racecourses, which would hit the smaller independents hardest, is that they could be forced to hand back a significant proportion of the money they have received so far.

In three annual payments, made in July each year, the courses have shared out a total of over £90 million.

The potential payback covers only the interactive element of the deal with Attheraces, and does not include payment for terrestrial television pictures.
However, the cost to the courses will still amount to a total of around £53m - a significant proportion of which they have already spent collectively on track and facility improvements and prize-money over the three-year period.

In the background, there is a separate threat to the Attheraces contract.

The Office of Fair Trading has indicated it believes the method of dealing collectively with the 49 racecourses, which did not sign up to a five-year agreement with GG-Media, breached the competition laws.

If the OFT were to go ahead with this approach, the series of options could range from unravelling the deal to putting in a new structure from an agreed date.

Whatever the terms of an agreement, the racecourses would lose out in one way or another, either from a payback or a new set of terms that would be unlikely to match the current deal.

The OFT, which is also engaged in controversial debate with the BHB over aspects of racing's administration that it believes are anti-competitive, had been expected to issue a ruling before Christmas.

That did not come about, and it is now understood that its officials have told the Racecourse Association that it will delay a ruling,possibly until the beginning of April.

The OFT is aware of the Attheraces' challenge, and may have decided to hold its fire until the outcome is known.

Attheraces ’ 90-day notice is understood to have been issued under Schedule 7 of the contract,which triggers repayment of money by the courses when certain commercial conditions are not met.

In this case, it concerns margins achieved over all betting platforms by the Tote, which operates pool betting through Attheraces’ interactive facility.

The contract, which allows for variable percentage payments to the Tote, Arena Leisure, BSkyB and the racecourses from betting revenue, refers to a minimum level of 20 per cent for the Tote’s gross profits – the amount left after punters have been paidout - over a three-month period.

Previously, the Tote margin was about 22.7 per cent, but following the decision to cut deductions on win and place betting, the figure fell to 19.5 per cent, prompting the Attheraces action.

Attempts to renegotiate the Tote’s takeout from Attheraces have failed, leaving the company to turn its focus on to the racecourses to shore up its business plan.

Newtown90

Will at the races become free to air ??????is there any fre to air racing channels?????

Mossy Monk

ATR is FTA and has been for ages now

scart

Mossy Monk wrote:

ATR is FTA and has been for ages now

Incorrect....... AtTheRaces is only available on subscription. Its part of skys news & events mix.

Reidy

Attheraces is partly owned by Sky and is a free-to-air service, while The Horse Racing Channel ruk is subscription.

scart

Reidy wrote:

Attheraces is partly owned by Sky and is a free-to-air service, while The Horse Racing Channel ruk is subscription.

It is not a free to air service. Its part of Skys news & events mix, so to receive it you must subscribe to sky! How then can it be FTA???
Where are you getting this (mis)infromation from?

http://www.attheraces.com/article.asp?hlid=408522&title=Tuning+in+to+At+The+Races

At The Races is currently available on:

SKY DIGITAL — CH 415
TELEWEST — CH 534
NTL: HOME — CH 908
CHORUS — CH 64
NTL: (IRELAND) CH 418

WHICH PACKAGE(S) DO I NEED TO WATCH AT THE RACES?

SKY DIGITAL
At The Races is part of the News and Events Mix on Sky Digital. To order, call 08705 800 874 or visit www.sky.com

TELEWEST
At The Races is available to all Telewest viewers. To order, call 0845 142 0000.

NTL: HOME
At The Races is part of the Base Pack and prices start from £19 per month. To order, call 0800 183 0123 or visit www.ntlhome.com

NTL: (IRELAND)
At The Races is available as an Add-On channel priced at €12 per month. To order, Irish-based viewers should call 1800 234 234.

Merry Deal

It would be a sad day if we lost ATR.
It is a great channel.
I would like to have Racing UK too, but I am subscribed to NTL and I am told that they don't do it anymore.
Does anyone know how I can get Racing UK, and what it costs?
I did not take it in the past because I would have had to take a whole lot of stuff that I didn't need from SKY as part of the package.
I would just love to be able to get Racing UK on it's own here in Dublin, but I am open to listening to any recommendations.
Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Nulty

Merry Deal wrote: »

It would be a sad day if we lost ATR.
It is a great channel.
I would like to have Racing UK too, but I am subscribed to NTL and I am told that they don't do it anymore.
Does anyone know how I can get Racing UK, and what it costs?
I did not take it in the past because I would have had to take a whole lot of stuff that I didn't need from SKY as part of the package.
I would just love to be able to get Racing UK on it's own here in Dublin, but I am open to listening to any recommendations.
Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks.

e25 a month for Irish customers. www.racinguk.com

They say it works out at about 40p a race (thats not exact)

Merry Deal

Nulty wrote: »

e25 a month for Irish customers. www.racinguk.com

They say it works out at about 40p a race (thats not exact)

Thanks Nulty.
That's quite expensive.
Originally I was quoted 18 euro a month by NTL for the full Setanta package, including Racing UK, but they lost Racing UK soon after that.
I really would like to have it on the TV, but not at any price.
I did get it on the famous "dodgy box" for a while, but that bit the dust as well!
Thanks again.

mike65

This thread is years old, ATR are not going anywhere

Merry Deal

mike65 wrote: »

This thread is years old, ATR are not going anywhere

Yes, I know that.
Do you have any information about Racing UK subscription options?

mike65

None at all. Apart from it seems overpriced

Merry Deal

mike65 wrote: »

None at all. Apart from it seems overpriced

Yeah, it does indeed.
Unfortunately.
Many thanks for your contribution.

Shan75

Merry Deal wrote: »

Yes, I know that.
Do you have any information about Racing UK subscription options?

I don't think there are any options for less than 25 euro on TV or their website which is quite expensive.

Finding somewhere to watch it free online seems the only option.

Merry Deal

Shan75 wrote: »

I don't think there are any options for less than 25 euro on TV or their website which is quite expensive.

Finding somewhere to watch it free online seems the only option.

Thanks Shan.
That does appear to be the only option alright.
It is overpriced at 300 euro a year.

NewApproach

If ATR go to the wall someone else will take over, simple as.

mike65

ATR is NOT gong to the wall, why is this being discussed?

Merry Deal

mike65 wrote: »

ATR is NOT gong to the wall, why is this being discussed?

My fault, really.
I read an old thread that was out of date, and I thought it was current at the time.
Sorry about that, and my thanks to those who enlightened me.

qc3

check this link for racing uk.
http://yb.edgeboss.net/wmedia-live/yb/22261/1_yb-yb466_070601.asx

small picture, but good quality

Merry Deal

qc3 wrote: »

check this link for racing uk.
http://yb.edgeboss.net/wmedia-live/yb/22261/1_yb-yb466_070601.asx

Will check.
Thanks.

Willabong

qc3 wrote: »

check this link for racing uk.
http://yb.edgeboss.net/wmedia-live/yb/22261/1_yb-yb466_070601.asx

small picture, but good quality

Great find thanks a mill will use that:D

Merry Deal

Think it is time to delete this thread now.
Not sure we should be advertising that channel.
Everyone has had a chance to note it by now.

Johner

Merry Deal wrote: »

Think it is time to delete this thread now.
Not sure we should be advertising that channel.
Everyone has had a chance to note it by now.

The price of Racing UK is nothing short of a joke. €25 a month! :eek:

Merry Deal

Johner wrote: »

The price of Racing UK is nothing short of a joke. €25 a month! :eek:

Agreed!

del 1

Anybody got a live stream to ATR??

I use the replay facility but would prefer the build up & reviews.