GBI and Sky Racing expand coverage to Australia

The horse racing industry in the UK just got a nice little steroid boost in the form of expanded coverage into Australia. GBI and Tabcorp’s racing broadcaster Sky Racing have inked a long term partnership deal that secures the exclusive rights to broadcast all UK and Ireland horse racing in Australia.

The agreement will see UK racing broadcasted on Australian TV channels Sky Racing2 and Sky Racing World every night. It’s the type of long term agreement that provides stability to an industry in dire need of it. The Australian racing fans will now have the opportunity to view all the horse racing they can handle, and jumps racing enthusiasts will get their fix from the new deal, with the expanded coverage to ensure more broadcasting of jumps racing events during the English winter.

In 2009/10 Sky Racing broadcast 2726 races from the UK, with the NSW and Victorian TAB turnover on these events exceeding $29.4 million. Joining Hong Kong and Singapore, UK racing is among the most popular international racing offering among Tabcorp’s customers. While the stability and much needed boost is celebrated by UK racing, it comes perhaps at the behest of Sidney racing which is currently in a stalemate in negotiating a merger between its two clubs the Australian Jockey Club and the Sydney Turf Club.