Horse racing media rights agency HBA Media has announced that the upcoming annual Royal Ascot horse racing festival will be broadcast in 180 global territories by over 30 broadcasters.

HBA Media, which sells broadcast packages for the Ascot Racecourse, stated that the event attracted “significant” broadcaster interest that resulted in the expansive global broadcast mix.

The 2024 Royal Ascot meeting will begin tomorrow (June 18) and run until 22 Saturday.

Domestically, it will be shown for the eighth consecutive year by commercial broadcaster ITV, which will once again offer a five-hour daily programming block dedicated to the racing festival throughout its running, with additional coverage in the UK and Ireland provided by the Sky Sports Racing and Virgin Media pay-TV channels.

HBA Media has offered global broadcasters a trio of content packages including live race coverage, shoulder content, and ancillary programming that includes documentaries and talk shows.

In the US, the festival will be shown on the NBC national linear channel and OTT streaming service Peacock, with the NBCUniversal-owned network to have an on-course presence at the event.

Canadian telecommunications giant Rogers, operator of the Sportsnet network, will carry Ascot coverage in the country for the first time, while in Latin America, Disney-owned ESPN will show the event, with SportsMax supplementing it in the Caribbean.

Across Europe, several broadcasters are returning from 2023 to showcase the event again, including Rai (Italy), Setanta (Baltics and Eurasia), Polsat (Poland), CYTA (Cyprus), WeDoTV (Germany, Switzerland and Austria), and Silknet (Georgia).

Embattled Scandinavian streamer Viaplay will carry the event in the Nordic regions as well as in the Netherlands, wherein it will provide a dedicated Dutch-language commentary feed.

In Asia, deals have been reached with Sony Pictures Network (the Indian subcontinent), TransVision (Indonesia), NTV (Mongolia), and the Green Channel (Japan).

Rounding up the six continents worth of coverage is SuperSport, which will broadcast the race in 48 sub-Saharan African territories, while DMI and Al Kass will showcase it in the Middle East and North Africa.  

HBA Media extended its international media rights and distribution agreement with the prestigious Ascot racecourse for the current four-year period from 2024-27 back in November 2023.