United Irish Racecourses follow through on threat to reject new media rights deal

Ireland’s racecourse sector has split over a proposed €47 million per year media rights deal.

The history of all 26 racecourses negotiating and approving contracts for their TV pictures as one ended in dramatic fashion when the handful of tracks comprising United Irish Racecourses followed through on their threat to reject a new five-year deal.

At an Association of Irish Racecourses EGM on Tuesday afternoon the quintet of smaller tracks – Limerick, Kilbeggan, Thurles, Sligo and Roscommon – voted against acceptance of the deal from Sports Information Services (SIS) and Racecourse Media Group (RMG).

The 21-5 split throws a spanner into the works of how media rights deals are negotiated and opens a scenario, as in Britain, where individual tracks negotiate with differing companies. Up to now a Horse Racing Ireland media rights committee did the negotiations on an, all in, basis.

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The UIR block was set up earlier this year after its five tracks claimed trust in HRI, which operates four courses of its own, had collapsed.

It is unhappy with how media rights income is distributed by HRI, with almost €7 million going to the governing body. It also claimed the funding model behind the deal favoured the bigger racecourses.

In March UIR received an unsolicited offer of €100,000 per fixture from Arena Racing Company (ARC) which is the main competitor to SIS/RMG. However, a murky situation is made even more uncertain by how, under legislation, all deals must be negotiated by HRI’s media rights committee.

ARC is a partner with Sky Sports Racing which shows pictures free to air from its tracks in Britain. Pictures of Irish racing were put behind a paywall on Racing TV when SIS/RMG secured the rights in 2019.

Tuesday’s outcome opens the possibility of some Irish racing returning to Sky Sports Racing in 2024.

Significantly, ARC’s hopes of purchasing Dundalk’s all-weather circuit look to have been quashed after Tuesday’s vote. Dundalk officials, reportedly in disagreement with HRI recently over fixture charges, eventually rowed in behind the new deal as did two other unnamed courses who’d had concerns.

The focus now switches to UIR’s next move and if it will go back to HRI’s media rights committee which is chaired by the Punchestown boss, Conor O’Neill, and includes HRI’s chairman, Nicky Hartery. UIR said they weren’t in a position to comment on Tuesday evening.

Asked on Tuesday if the UIR tracks could continue to be members of AIR, the racecourse body’s chief executive, Paul Hensey, said: “I don’t know. It’s not for me to answer that, or what way the AIR board are thinking yet. Time will tell how that works out. It’s something for another day.”

Hensey admitted it was “somewhat disappointing” that all 26 tracks weren’t on board with the deal but stressed how the vast majority of fixtures were tied up. He said rejection by UIR meant some elements of the deal would need to be looked at but that those who signed up could benefit.

“It’s something we’re going to have to work out. It is fixture based; it’s not a percentage per racetrack. It is based on performance.

“Obviously, there will have to be alterations to some of the fixtures that were included in the projections, but I would expect the 21 tracks that have signed up will actually get increased revenue over the period.

“It won’t be a negative effect for the 21 tracks that have signed. If anything, I think they will possibly get an upturn in their dividends,” he said.

Hensey added: “You could look at it and say five of the 26 tracks are gone which is roughly 20 per cent.

“But when you analyse the fixtures, and this is very much a fixtures-based deal and offer, the five tracks in question amount to 56 fixtures which equates to approximately 15 per cent of the fixtures in Ireland.

“We’re delighted to have 87 per cent of the fixtures secured in what is a very good deal.”

That deal, which is due to start in 2024, will have to be approved by the HRI board this Friday.

“At that stage I would imagine the tracks that didn’t vote for the deal will have to go back to the media rights committee of HRI and ask them to negotiate an alternative on their behalf,” Hensey commented.