TV coverage of Irish racing mired in bizarre limbo
Except for the odd rare treat from RTE, Irish racing has been starved of any sort of promotion on television in 2003.
What a way to boost your sport. It really is GUBU, grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented.
While British racing has never been catered for better, through Attheraces, Channel 4 and the BBC, we are left in a kind of third-world limbo.
Horse Racing Ireland recently published its Strategic Plan, 2003-2007. It had a couple of interesting things to say regarding a dedicated Irish Racing Channel and television coverage in general.
Note the following. “HRI will fund the production and distribution of a new television programme in support of Irish racing, both to inform existing racegoers and to attract a new audience to the sport.’’
It’s vague and idealistic, but a perfectly acceptable notion and the game is crying out and has been, literally, for decades for some sort of proper racing programme somewhere on terrestrial television.
But we digress and it is the next part of the Strategic Plan which concerns us for the moment. This is what it says: “HRI will progress, with interested parties, the concept of an Irish Racing Channel that will also offer a fair financial return to racecourses.’’
Later on in the plan there is a bit more on that. “HRI is committed to ensuring that, as soon as possible, Irish racing is broadcast on a daily basis on a satellite-cable channel with a fair return being provided to racecourses.
“Specifically, HRI is examining the possibility of creating a separate Irish Racing Channel, or a joint venture with other racing jurisdictions, with the intention of recovering any investment required from both the commercial sale of the product and increased tote turnover through the availability of pool betting on this channel.’’
In other words, pie-in-the-sky, almost totally aspirational and not very inspirational.
Michael O’Rourke is Director of Marketing and Communications at HRI.
He admitted yesterday that HRI has made “no significant progress’’ towards a dedicated Irish Racing Channel.
Said O’Rourke: “It is being examined, but there has been no significant progress. We are looking at various options, but are at the very early stages. The various options are being costed.’’
The conclusion to be drawn is... don’t hold your breath!
So, at least in the short term, and probably in the long term as well, the only game in town is Attheraces. We know they don’t want the bread-and-butter Irish racing.
They want to cherry-pick, take the best we have to offer, leave the rest, and Sundays as well.
But Attheraces doesn’t seem to be at the races as far as the HRI is concerned. Jerry Desmond is Chairman of the Media Rights Committeee of HRI.
Said Desmond: “We are not having any negotiations with Attheraces at the moment. What they are offering is so minimal that it is unattractive to us. The door isn’t closed, however.’’
Regarding negotiating with Attheraces, Michael O’Rourke said: “It has gone quiet, but the door isn’t closed.’’
Well, closed or not, it is time to kick it in. A dedicated Irish Racing Channel is, at best, a long, long way from fruition.
The game, largely, isn’t being promoted in any way through the medium of television. One of the reasons HRI pulled the plug on the Racing Channel coverage, outside of the fact they weren’t getting paid for it in the first place, was the perceived affect it was having on attendances.
Jerry Desmond says that, talking to the racecourses, the word is that attendances have been “much improved’’ over the past couple of months.
Attendances then will always have to be a major consideration. But one has to look at the far bigger picture, the huge amount of publicity that can be generated for Irish racing through Attheraces, even if their coverage would be far from ideal.
It is quite astonishing now the number of people in this country who have access to that channel. HRI needs to start talking to Attheraces.
Let them cherry-pick if that’s what they want. Let them show Sunday racing. Make the best deal you can until you are in a position to set up on your own. Half a loaf is far better than no bread at all!
