Channel 4 will be asked to reduce the extent to which gambling features in its racing coverage, as part of a general rebranding of the sport aimed at broadening its appeal. The news comes as negotiations enter the home straight on a three-year contract between the sport and the broadcaster.
A new deal, committing Channel 4 to covering the sport on 80 days per year from 2010 to 2012, is likely to be wrapped up in the next few weeks. But an insider who is familiar with the negotiations said yesterday that racing will not be satisfied simply to ensure the same quantity of coverage as in the last few years – there is also a determination that it should appeal to an audience beyond punters.
"We want to try and take the sport forward, we want to widen the attraction and, for that to happen, both sides have got to innovate," the source said. "We want a freshening up of the coverage, good as it is. Sometimes you lose the attraction of the sport amongst the wealth of betting data.
"We're not saying that betting isn't critical to the sport but it is more than betting. We'd like to see more coverage of the personalities involved. And the bookmakers agree with that – we've had discussions with the big bookmakers and there is a lot of common ground."
Racing subsidises Channel 4's coverage, through sponsorship of the programmes by Dubai Holding and other contributions from the Levy Board and the Tote, which gives the sport hope of having some say in editorial matters. The shift away from betting is believed to be among the initial recommendations from Harrison Fraser, a consultancy firm brought in to advise on rebranding racing.
But the suggested change of tone did not go down well with John McCririck, Channel 4's long-established betting expert, whose own role was unexpectedly reduced last year. "I have no input at all into what Channel 4 decides but I would be unhappy and I feel viewers would lose out if betting were cut back," he said.
"The vast majority of people who watch do have a bet – not on every race, but they do have a bet. If you cut down on the amount of betting, that goes against what most people want.
"I've heard nothing about it and of course it is entirely up to the people who run Channel 4 to decide how they cover racing. We have lovely horses, lots of skills on show and great personalities but if there was no betting on racing, you have to wonder how many people would watch.
"It would be surprising. We have led the way, with Tanya Stevenson doing the exchanges, and the service we give to viewers is, I think, what people are looking for."
McCririck fears the influence of a "vocal minority" in racing, who deplore the prominence given to gambling in coverage of the sport. "There are some who just want to see the horses plodding round the paddock, going down to the start, run the race and then off we go again," he said.
Meanwhile, racing's leaders welcomed a statement from the sports minister, Gerry Sutcliffe, raising the possibility that betting operators based overseas might be required to contribute to the levy, if they wish to advertise in Britain. "This is a major development, and one we have been pressing for," said Nic Coward, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority. "It's a significant step forward in our case to secure a fair and reasonable return from betting operators."
(Source: Guardian.co.uk)
