Channel 4 Racing
| Channel 4 Racing | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Nick Luck |
| Voices of | Simon Holt |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Highflyer (1984–2012), IMG Sports Media (2013–2016) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Channel 4 |
| Picture format |
576i (SDTV 16:9, 4:3), 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original release | March 22, 1984 – December 31, 2016 |
Channel 4 Racing is the name given to the horse racing coverage on the British television station Channel 4.
History
The first transmission of racing on the channel was on 22 March 1984 from Doncaster, as it took over midweek coverage which had previously been on ITV. On 5 October 1985, it took over ITV's Saturday afternoon coverage (previously The ITV Seven) when World of Sport finished. From the beginning of 1986, however, the amount of racing covered, especially on Saturday afternoons, was substantially reduced, and not until the late 1990s would it reach the scale it had enjoyed when it was on ITV.
Coverage
Major UK events covered by Channel 4 include the 1,000 Guineas and 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, the Derby and Oaks from Epsom and the St Leger at Doncaster, Royal Ascot and the Cheltenham Festival. These events have moved between the BBC and ITV over the years.
Internationally, it has covered the Breeders' Cup in the United States of America, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France and the Dubai World Cup in the UAE.
The Morning Line
The Morning Line is a Saturday morning look at the day's live horse racing on Channel 4. It provides tips and advice for the forthcoming day's racing. The show features contributions from a panel of racing pundits. Every Saturday the team of pundits have a virtual £100 with which they make their charity bet selections for the day.
Current portfolio
Channel 4 Racing mainly, but not exclusively, features meetings from the Racing UK courses having initially signed a three-year contract which ran between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2009 - the contract guarantees 80 days of racing each year on Channel 4.[1] Coverage is sponsored by Dubai.
From 2013, Channel 4 Racing became the exclusive home of free-to-air televised racing, having signed a four-year deal in March 2012. Coverage includes all major races including The Derby, Cheltenham Festival and for the first time on Channel 4, the Grand National and Royal Ascot, and international races including the Dubai World Cup and the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.[2]
End of Channel 4 Racing
On 1 January 2016 it was announced that Channel 4 had lost their horse racing rights after 32 years to ITV who would have exclusive free to air rights to British Horse Racing from 1 January 2017 meaning Channel 4 will broadcast their final day of horse racing on 31 December 2016 and the following day the rights will move to ITV Sport. The reason for the change was said to be that ratings had dipped for most of the big meetings that used to be broadcast on the BBC up to 2012 since the move to Channel 4. Under the new deal ITV will show a minimum of 40 days of horse racing live on ITV with a further 60 days a year live on ITV4 with ITV Sport also producing their own coverage rather than Independent Producers.[3]
Presenters
Current Presenters
The line up was refreshed by new production company IMG Sports Media in 2013. Clare Balding anchors coverage of major festivals such as Cheltenham and Royal Ascot, whilst the rest of the time coverage is fronted by Nick Luck. Alice Plunkett and Emma Spencer fill in as presenters when both Balding and Luck are absent, and also serve as interviewers and reporters on the programme alongside Gina Harding and Rishi Persad. Jim McGrath, Graham Cunningham, Mick Fitzgerald and occasionally former champion jockey AP McCoy provide analysis, whilst Tanya Stevenson, Brian Gleeson and Tom Lee are the programme's betting correspondents. Since 2000 the senior commentator has been Simon Holt, while Richard Hoiles commentates either at the second most important meeting of the day, or fills in for Holt when he is absent. Very occasionally Hoiles has also acted as main presenter of the programme. Ian Bartlett is usually the third choice commentator.[4]
- Former Presenters
Since its inception in 1984, Channel 4 Racing has featured many of racing's best known journalists and presenters, including Derek Thompson, Lesley Graham, John Francome, John Oaksey, John McCririck, Brough Scott, Mike Cattermole and Stewart Machin.
References
- ↑ Channel 4 contract signed Racing UK
- ↑ "Channel 4 gets rights for Grand National, Derby and Royal Ascot". BBC Sport. 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
- ↑ "ITV announce Horse Racing Deal". ITV Press Centre. ITV. Retrieved 4/1/16. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Channel 4 Racing presenter biographies - Channel 4 - Info - Press". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 2016-07-19.