The fall and rise of Attheraces

mike2084 · 22-05-2004 11:01PM

Originally posted by sceptre
Just a quick note from a reader, Michael.

I've no interest in horse racing. The last time I put a bet on a horse was when Seagram won the National. I went to Limerick races just after Christmas and was bored off my proverbial tits compared to the occasional good trip to the dog track I've had (must be ADD) and couldn't even figure out when the race had actually started.

However, I'm finding your regular updates very interesting so thanks!:D

Thank You for your kind words. We may convert you yet:D

PK - the king · 23-05-2004 08:23PM

Why is attheraces available as part of the basic entertainment on sky & chorus but is a pay extra channel on ntl digital?

mike2084 · 26-05-2004 10:39PM

It is rumoured that The Horse Racing Channel could launch this Saturday and share with iSports TV on 425. I stress, this is only a rumour as there has been no official confirmation.

http://www.theracingforum.co.uk/cgi-bin/ikonboard/topic.cgi?forum=15&topic=5456&start=0

Aquos76 · 26-05-2004 11:07PM

Here you go Michael

NEW RACING CHANNEL TO START ON SATURDAY

The Horse Racing Channel will start broadcasting on Saturday - 13 days sooner than its rival At The Races.

THRC, under the new brand name of 'Racing UK', will begin coverage at 1pm and Rishi Persad will present the first broadcast live from Kempton Park.

The programme will also include racing from Doncaster, Musselburgh and Cartmel.

Major fixtures to be covered by the channel include next week's Vodafone Derby meeting, the July meeting from Newmarket, Glorious Goodwood, York's Ebor Festival and the St Leger Festival from Doncaster.

Racing UK is designed to provide viewers with British racing all year around.

The channel will broadcast about 4,000 races from UK courses each year and be on air for between five and eight hours on race days.

Racing UK will be broadcast on iSports TV, operated by the Digital Interactive Television Group (DITG), on Sky digital platform channel 425, and its programmes will be produced by Highflyer.

Cartmel is the latest course to give its support to Racing UK, which is owned and managed by 30 racecourses, including Aintree, Ayr, Cheltenham, Doncaster, Goodwood, Newmarket and Sandown.

Project director Andrew Brown said: "Racing UK will bring the best of British racing to TV viewers in the UK and beyond.

"We are looking forward to going live on Saturday and to establishing Racing UK as the broadcast home of British horseracing."

Damian Cope, managing director of DITG Gaming, added: "DITG is delighted to help The Horse Racing Channel start broadcasting its own premium product.

"We know that everyone, especially the punters, will be very pleased to have UK horseracing back on TV after a two-month absence."

At The Races, the satellite television successor to attheraces, which went off the air on March 29, will launch its live racing service from Southwell on June 11.

Source: Betfair

denis1501 · 27-05-2004 09:04AM

Not so according to today's Racing post..........wonder who's right????

THE race to sign up presenters and pundits for Britain’s two satellite racing channels has begun in earnest, and At The Races beat its rival The Horse Racing Channel to the first punch on Tuesday, by announcing that it had signed John McCririck, Alex Hammond and Zoey Bird.

However, persistent speculation that THRC would be the first to launch - this Saturday - was "categorically" denied.

McCririck and Bird worked for the defunct Attheraces channel, for which Hammond, who featured on the rival station The Racing Channel, was overlooked.

Hammond has since worked for Sky Sports, and has continued to present racing on The Winning Post, which is produced by SIS, provider of a similar service for ATR.

Further appointments, including Robert Cooper, to a unit that will be smaller than that used by production company Highflyer for Attheraces, are expected this week, as ATR works towards its promised June 11 launch date.

McCririck said: "I'm excited to have been asked to bring daily racing back to air and it had to be with At The Races. I'll be at Southwell on the opening day then Royal Ascot the following week."

ATR has also unveiled a new red, white and blue logo that will be used for live broadcasts and studio programmes, and within marketing activity, aimed at getting away from the image that lasted for less than two years.

THRC timings have not been announced, but Highflyer has been given the production job.

Former Attheraces channel editor Jim Ramsay, whose claim that 'old' ATR were misleading the courses over the station's future plans led to his being asked to take gardening leave, is leading the search for talent to appear on THRC.

He is understood to have approached such familiar Attheraces figures as Mike Cattermole, Lydia Hislop and Rishi Persad.

Both channels are expected to concentrate their service around racecourse presentation, with limited studio back-up.

Persistent rumours on Tuesday that THRC would launch with coverage of Kempton and Doncaster onSaturday were described as "premature" on Tuesday night by the channel's driving force, Rod Fabricius.

Fabricious was in consultation with lawyers in London on Tuesday and emerged from meetings to say: “I can confirm that no decision has yet been made regarding a launch date.”

regards
D.

robert muldoon · 27-05-2004 09:34AM

Thanks Miichael Walsh, for keeping us up to date on the racing situation,but I am more interested in when we will be able to see Irish Courses televised live on our T.V screens, can you keep us posted on this??

mike2084 · 27-05-2004 10:36PM

Originally posted by robert muldoon
Thanks Miichael Walsh, for keeping us up to date on the racing situation,but I am more interested in when we will be able to see Irish Courses televised live on our T.V screens, can you keep us posted on this??

Sorry to disappoint, but a contact of mine tells me that no moves will be made on the Irish situation for six months if at all. I'm told they are delighted with Go Racing on TV3 (100,000 viewers a week) and there going to stick with it.

The UK Racing programme is in iSports' EPG listings from Saturday at 1pm so its definately coming.

mike2084 · 31-05-2004 11:23PM

Here is a list of the courses that have signed up for Racing UK:

Aintree, Carlisle, Cheltenhan, Epsom, Haydock, Huntingdon, Kempton, Market Rasen, Newmarket, Nottingham, Sandown, Warwick, Wincanton , Bangor, Chester, Doncaster , Goodwood, Newbury, York, Ayr, Beverley, Pontefract, Thirsk, Catterick, Redcar, Musselburgh, Ludlow.

see http://www.isports.tv/

Dec4 · 01-06-2004 03:35PM

Sorry to disappoint, but a contact of mine tells me that no moves will be made on the Irish situation for six months if at all.

Anyhow according to another source, Ballinrobe card is on The Winning Post tonight ( see info on Sky EPG ) so it looks like Irish Racing has joined ranks with ATR2 as of today.

robert muldoon · 01-06-2004 08:14PM

Originally posted by Dec4
Anyhow according to another source, Ballinrobe card is on The Winning Post tonight ( see info on Sky EPG ) so it looks like Irish Racing has joined ranks with ATR2 as of today.

Sorry but what Nr is this channel

DMC · 01-06-2004 08:36PM

One of the main Sky Sports channels. The Winning Post is a regular live programme, showing evening meetings on Sky Sports during the summer.

mike2084 · 02-06-2004 11:46PM

Unfortunately no racing was screened from Ballinrobe last night, so this would appear to be an EPG error.

mike2084 · 06-06-2004 10:49PM

Irish Racing could be back on our screens, according to yesterdays Irish Field, although this has had more false starts then the 1993 Grand National so don't expect it until you see it;)

Here is the article: (No website for Irish Field)

Irish Racing back on TV

NEXT Friday's meetings at Navan and Wexford could form part of the first days programming by Attheraces. It's understood that a deal between the SIS-backed fledgling channel and Horse Racing Ireland has been agreed in principal with the final details expected to be confirmed next week.

Attheraces will carry pictures from 26 British tracks and will be available to more than seven million homes in the UK and Ireland via Sky digital and carriage via cable will extend coverage to another two million homes.

SIS has been contracted to produce live race coverage, live programming from the tracks and all studio programming. Presenters will include John McCririck, Alex Hammond and Zoey Bird.

robert muldoon · 09-06-2004 11:13PM

Originally posted by Michael Walsh
Irish Racing could be back on our screens, according to yesterdays Irish Field, although this has had more false starts then the 1993 Grand National so don't expect it until you see it;)

Thanks Michael, I was hoping Leopardstown mighy have been on Sky sports this pm as I had a tip for a horse, - anyway keep us posted

mike2084 · 09-06-2004 11:31PM

I still can't find that confirmation they were talking about, and Friday is getting close.

Dec4 · 11-06-2004 03:28PM

ATR have committed to show "Irish racing within the next week" according to Matthew Imi this morning on "new" At The Races. Wouldn't hold my breath. I'd say ATR just want to cherrypick and the only meeting of UK interest would be Irish Derby in a fortnight. If it's not sorted soon it might not get sorted at all...

Dec4 · 11-06-2004 10:55PM

Some good news.. see below

AT THE RACES TO SHOW IRISH MEETINGS
Irish racing is to be shown on the new At The Races channel from Sunday after the completion of a short-term deal.

At The Races, the restructured successor to the original attheraces channel, launched on Friday with British coverage from Southwell in the afternoon and Chepstow in the evening.

The BSkyB and Arena Leisure-owned broadcaster has the rights to 26 British tracks, while its rival, Racing UK, which started up late last month, has 30 and is owned by the racecourses.

In a statement issued on Friday, Horse Racing Ireland (HRI) and the Association of Irish Racecourses (AIR) said they were "pleased to announce that Irish racing will be back on television screens this Sunday when the new At The Races channel will show coverage from the two fixtures at Cork and Roscommon."

The statement continued: "HRI and AIR have completed a short-term contract to make Irish racing available to At The Races for the next two weeks, pending finalisation of a longer-term agreement.

"The terms of such a deal, which will run to December 2008, have been agreed and the contract is currently being finalised with solicitors.

"As part of the deal, ATR will cover at least one fixture for each day that there is racing in Ireland (a minimum of 250 Irish meetings per year)."

Jerry Desmond, chairman of both the HRI media rights committee and AIR, said: "This deal fulfils HRI's commitment within its strategic plan to ensure the return of Irish racing on to an appropriate satellite channel.

"The AIR has enjoyed a long and positive relationship with SIS, who have held racecourses' direct-to-home broadcasting rights since the start of the year and who will be producing the Irish product for At The Races.

"Irish racing is delighted to be associated with an experienced broadcaster such as BSkyB, which will undoubtedly bring long-term promotional benefits to Irish racing."

mike2084 · 11-06-2004 10:56PM

I can now confirm that Irish racing will be back with both Cork & Roscommon on Sunday. A starter two-week contract has been agreed with a four year contract to follow. ATR have to show at least 1 Irish meeting any day when Irish action takes place. This avoids the prospect of Irish meetings being cherry-picked. Details of the deal are available on At The Races Text and in the following Racing Post article.

ATR chief launches attack on rival

by Andrew Scutts

"FLAWED and will end in disaster". Matthew Imi, chief executive of At The Races, wasted no time in laying into rival broadcaster Racing UK on Friday, when the restructured At The Races made its return - but he also called for one dedicated racing channel.

Launch day was also a red-letter day for other reasons as it was revealed that live racing from Ireland will return on Sunday, with At The Races covering the action from Cork and Roscommon after signing a deal with Horse Racing Ireland and the Association of Irish Racecourses.

Imi, meanwhile, voiced his opinion on Racing UK, which has been broadcasting since May 29, and his desire that racecourses unite under one banner at Southwell, from where At The Races covered its first live British racing programme since the collapse of the old Attheraces on March 30.

Imi said: “I’m sure that one racing channel, covering all 59 courses, is where everyone wants to end up, including ourselves. We want to do all we can to popularise racing. We don't want to marginalise the sport.

“Although other factors were at work, Attheraces contributed to higher betting turnover, bigger racecourse attendances, and helped the Levy.

“Our new business plan is solid, it's clear that Sky are committed to racing, andwe take heart from that. We are not reliant on other courses joining us, and we're convinced that a subscription channel is the wrong way to go.

“It's very difficult to make a success of a subscription channel. We won't be asking our viewers to part with their money, a plan which underpins Racing UK, which is flawed and will end in disaster."

Imi also took a swipe at a newspaper report which denigrated the quality of racing available to At The Races. "We have 26 racecourses [out of 59] signed up so far, but already have over 50 per cent of the fixture list, and I'm disappointed with any remarks about a lack of quality," he said.

With Sandown and York on Racing UK on Friday afternoon, At The Races had to be content with six all-weather races from Southwell, followed by Chepstow's evening card, which was head-to-head with Goodwood on Racing UK.

At The Races will enjoy a bigger slice of the pie on Saturday, covering Bath in the afternoon, plus all three evening meetings in Britain - Leicester, Hexham and Lingfield.

Live coverage from Leicester and Hexham was guaranteed at the last minute, when GG-Media put pen to paper just before the 5pm deadline on Friday. GG-Media had been aligned to At The Races from the start, but did not sign up their ten courses until Friday.

Live coverage of Irish racing returns on Sunday after the finalising of a short-term contract on Friday, which makes Irish racing available to At The Races for the next two weeks, pending completion of a longer-term agreement which will run to December 2008.

On Friday, Mike Cattermole introduced the new-look At The Races - owned by Sky and Arena Leisure - and the day passed without any obvious glitches.

Robert Cooper, David Yates and Sean Boyce discussed the news and betting moves in the morning and early afternoon, while John McCririck and Alex Hammond were at Southwell previewing the live racing and conducting interviews. There was also a feature on trainer Mick Channon.

There is a distinctly Sky Sports-style feel to the new programme, from the blue background in the studio to the rolling information and betting bar at the bottom of our screens, which also reflects the influence of producers SIS.

“Sky were not as hands-on in the old Attheraces set-up but, unlike Channel 4, they didn't walk away at the end of March, and they are now absolutely hands-on,” said Imi.

"I thought we made a cracking start," he added. "I was really pleased with our first day. The programme looks good, the graphics are clean and it's a proper channel. With Ascot, Northern Racing, GG-Media and Irish racing, we have access to 1,000 fixtures a year."

http://www.racingpost.co.uk/horses/?MIval=rp_std_page&psection=racingpost.co.uk&page=latest32

channelsurfer · 12-06-2004 10:46PM

do racing uk plan to charge a monthly fee cos at the moment they are free to air and at the races are not free to air they are on the sky packs..

mike2084 · 12-06-2004 11:01PM

Originally posted by channelsurfer
do racing uk plan to charge a monthly fee cos at the moment they are free to air and at the races are not free to air they are on the sky packs..

Racing UK plan to charge a sub of €30 per month in about 2 months time. ATR are committed to remaining on the family pack

The fall and rise of Attheraces

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