C4 Racing may end next year

http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1371027,00.html

C4 is threatening to axe it's racing coverage next year unless it is paid to broadcast the sport.

C4 claims it is losing millions a year with it's racing coverage, which although critically applauded, gets low ratings - especially amongst the younger viewers that pull in the advertisers. John McCririck of C4 Racing says the channel gets more viewers with a black and white movie and that it's time UK racing "faced up to facts".

C4 says that in most other countries racing authorities pay channels to broadcast the sport.

In the UK a televised rate will increase betting by 250%, and C4 claim it is wrong they are funding bookmakers profits. Another problem is that OFCOM rules prevent bookmakers sponsoring racing coverage - and I think C4 Racing has been without a sponsor since Stepstone collapses a few years ago.

Any thoughts?

A couple of other questions - what do the standard At the Races and Racing UK schedules look like and what happened with C4/Sky renewing the contract for cricket - I know C4 lost some games, but how many?

I always wondered why Channel 4 had Racing - it is much more suited to the BBC (2)

The weekday racing was on ITV until 1983 or 1984, and then they switched the Saturday coverage of it when ITV axed World Of Sport in the mid 1980's, it eventually becoming Channel 4 Racing.

I don't really blame Channel 4 as it does loose the channel alot of money, I personally cannot stand it myself, times have changed too as people have more to watch in their choice of TV these days. The only race of the year that is worth covering is The Grand National, as that usually gets a strong audience when the BBC shows it.

You can tell that C4 want out with it, as coverage has decreased over the years and they lost loads of money from the original At The Races venture. Really it should only be on the BBC or channels where people want to pay for it. (i.e. At The Races or Racing UK)

Well my Dad wouldn't be happy with your suggustions, he is an avid horce racing fan unfortunately.

I'm not a racing fan myself - and really don't agree with the emphasis on betting in the programmes, but Channel 4 Racing is far more watchable than the BBC coverage.

For a long time after ITV stopped showing racing, the ITV companies continued to cover it for Channel Four via the "Three on Four" subsidiary - which was, I believe, mainly Anglia, Thames and Yorkshire (and all three companies OB units were used - eventually the OB division was renamed Global, and is now part of Visions?)

Three on Four lost the racing production contract a while back ISTR.

This is a very interesting new theory. So the sporting organisation pays the broadcaster to put their sport on television, eh?

So how much would the football clubs have paid ITV Digital if the theory had been around a few years ago, one wonders.

And how much will the football clubs be paying Sky from the beginning of next season?

Nooooooooooooooo, something a little bit wrong with the logic somewhere here, methinks.

I'm sure the CBC would love to be paid for broadcasting the NHL(if it ever get's back up and running).

Not really, it depends which foot the shoe is on. Football, the upper leagues at least, is a big audience draw, racing is not. It means more to the horse-racing industry to be on TV than it does to Channel 4. The opposite is true on Football - Sky need football coverage.

I agree and would be very sad for it to go, being a racing fan. Seems I am in the minority here though!