HBA Media, the independent rights agency in horse racing, has struck several new broadcast deals across key global territories for the upcoming Breeders’ Cup, the annual thoroughbred US-based event, and for the marquee Melbourne Cup in Australia.
The two-day Breeders’ Cup is this year taking place in Arcadia, California, today (November 3) and tomorrow, while the Melbourne Cup Carnival is being held across November 4 to 11 at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria.
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The US event is being produced by national network NBC as the host broadcaster, with five championship races to be covered on its main channel and a “full two-day card also available across Peacock (streaming), USA Network, and FanDuel.”
Other prominent broadcast partners for the race include commercial network ITV in the UK, ESPN in South America, FanCode in India, SuperSport in South Africa, and Virgin Media in Ireland.
HBA and the Breeders’ Cup are also once again producing the ‘Golden Hour’, which will be sent to a number of networks including WeDo Sports in the DACH region of Europe, Polsat in Poland, Australia’s racing.com, and Setanta in the Balkans and some Eurasian markets.
Frank Sale, HBA Media’s managing director, commented on the deals struck for the California event, saying: “As we move into a second decade of partnership with the Breeders’ Cup, to have more mainstream sports networks than ever before showcasing these prestigious races is very positive as we continue to re-position horse racing as an in-demand product within the sports broadcasting industry."
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By GlobalDataLast year, HBA Media renewed its long-standing deal to provide exclusive linear and digital international distribution services for the Breeders’ Cup until 2024, taking the relationship between the pair past the decade mark.
For the Melbourne Cup, meanwhile, new broadcast partners include TransVision (Indonesia), Premier Sports (Southeast Asia), and FanCode in India.
Providing coverage of all four days of racing will be Sky in the UK and Ireland, Fox Sports in the US, ESPN across South and Central America, SportsMax in the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa’s SuperSport, and DMI in the Middle East and North Africa.
In total, the action will be presented in at least 209 territories by 25 broadcasters, with the world feed being produced by the Victoria Racing Club (VRC).
Henry Birtles, chief executive at HBA Media, said, regarding the Australian event: “We are delighted to have guaranteed the Melbourne Cup a global footprint that befits its status as one of the greatest occasions in sport, as well as improving the reach of the full Melbourne Cup Carnival.
“The VRC’s continued investment in live and on-demand international content is an invaluable asset, and we are delighted that a global audience will be able to experience the full Carnival in all its splendor.”
HBA Media has had a tie-up in place with the VRC since 2013.
In June this year, the agency announced new deals with the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the NBCUniversal US network, and the New York Racing Association.
