Australian pay-TV heavyweight Foxtel will continue to carry the Racing.com channel across its platforms after renewing its multi-year partnership with state horseracing body, Racing Victoria.
Under the deal, Racing.com will remain on Foxtel’s Channel 529, as well as the broadcaster’s streaming services Kayo Sports, Foxtel Now, and Foxtel GO.
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A new aspect of the renewal sees Foxtel Business customers (excluding licensed venues) being provided with access to Racing.com to broadcast at their venues, such as hotels, gyms, hospitals, and care facilities.
Owned by Racing Victoria, the Racing.com channel delivers 24/7 coverage of thoroughbred racing from Victoria, South Australia, and Hong Kong, along with major UK events. The channel recently added rights to all Western Australian thoroughbred meetings, which started this week.
The renewal comes shortly after the broadcaster renewed its long-term partnership with Sky Racing, the horse and greyhound racing channel.
That deal sees Foxtel continue to broadcast 24/7 thoroughbred, harness, and greyhound racing coverage through Sky Racing via its Sky Racing 1, Sky Racing 2, and Sky Thoroughbred Central channels.
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By GlobalDataLike its Racing Victoria deal, the Sky Racing channels were also added to the Foxtel Business distribution network for access in commercial settings.
The consolidation of its racing rights also comes as Foxtel faces major changes after being acquired by global sports streaming service DAZN in April for A$3.4 billion ($2.2 billion).
The major media company recently made significant numbers of staff redundant as part of a restructuring process following the formal takeover.
Foxtel is one of the most prominent sports rightsholders in the country, boasting 4.7 million subscribers and covering properties such as the Australian Football League, motor racing’s Formula 1, and, in a recently expanded deal, Australian domestic cricket.
The broadcaster also holds rights to a whole swathe of top-tier cricket, such as the Indian Premier League T20 competition through 2027, and operates the popular Kayo OTT service.
Meanwhile, Foxtel’s broadcast rival Stan, the platform owned by Australian commercial network Nine, has increased the cost of its sport add-on subscription after securing premium soccer rights, including the English Premier League (EPL), from the outgoing Optus Sport.
The price of the Stan Sport add-on has risen from A$15 to A$20 per month – an increase of around 33%. Due to the requirement to have a base Stan subscription for access, the new minimum monthly cost to stream sport is now A$32 per month for a basic package, while a standard package is A$37 per month.
A premium package, which includes 4K streaming and more device allowances, stands at A$42 per month.
The new price list comes just days after Stan announced a sub-licence deal with telecoms group Optus and its sports streaming platform Optus Sports for its soccer rights as it prepares to exit the sports broadcast market.
As well as the English Premier League domestic competition, Stan has acquired Optus’ rights to England’s FA Cup knockout competition, the upcoming UEFA Women’s European Championships, Japan’s J-League, South Korea’s K League, and North America’s National Women’s Soccer League.
Those rights add to Stan’s already burgeoning sports rights portfolio, which includes rugby union’s English Premiership, southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, and SVNS, tennis’ Davis Cup, and motor racing’s Formula E, among other properties.
