HBA Media, the UK-based horse racing agency, has today unveiled the extension of its international media rights and distribution agreement with the prestigious Ascot Racecourse.
The deal begins in January next year and runs through 2027, covering rights for all five days of the annual Royal Meeting at Ascot. Rights also extend across all flat and jumps fixtures held at the racecourse.
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HBA and the English venue first entered into a rights distribution partnership in January 2020, with the agency replacing Pitch International in that role.
For the 2023 edition of Royal Ascot in June, HBA Media secured 25 international broadcasters as partners, ensuring coverage across 176 territories. The two parties also worked together on the Royal Ascot Golden Hour, a “bespoke international live program around the Gold Cup during the Royal Meeting.”
At the time, HBA said the figures represented a growth in the reach of Royal Ascot for the fourth consecutive year.
Henry Birtles, HBA Media’s chief executive, has said: “Over the last four years, we have grown the global distribution of Ascot’s prestigious events, culminating in a record number of international broadcasters for the 2023 Royal Meeting.”
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By GlobalDataThe agency also holds global media distribution rights for events such as the Breeders Cup, the Melbourne Cup, the Saudi Cup, and the Pegasus Cup.
In early June, meanwhile, the agency announced a trio of new deals, with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the NBCUniversal US network, and the New York Racing Association.
Felicity Barnard, deputy chief executive and commercial director at Ascot Racecourse added: “We are delighted to extend our agreement with HBA Media for another four years and look forward to working closely with them throughout that time to showcase Ascot to the world.
“The reach for Royal Ascot in particular continues to grow and we are excited to build on the success of the Golden Hour.”
Commercial network ITV and pay-TV’s Sky Sports are the current domestic broadcast partners for Royal Ascot.
