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I know racing has to pay a few quid for C4’s efforts at broadcasting the sport but how much does racing receive for letting the National be broadcast?
Looking at how much broadcasters have to pay for the likes of F1 & Football I would have thought racing would be able to recoup a sizeable proportion for one of the top sporting events of the year of what it pays C4.
But I’ve never seen any actual figures bandied about, does anyone know how much about racing gets?
Aren’t the likes of The Derby & Cheltenham worth a few bob too?good question.
"fair and reasonable" amount is what the Broadcasting Act says it should be, for an event on the "crown jewels" list:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/consul … ov2009.pdf
"peanuts" is the reality according to Charlie Brooks:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horser … acing.html
para 76 of the independent panel’s report may be of interest:
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Evidence was heard from the Jockey Club, owner of the rights to the Grand National and the Derby, that it believed the absence of competition from its most recent tendering process for Aintree placed the BBC in an overwhelmingly beneficial position.
The Grand National is currently a Group A listed event and in the Panel’s view continues to be an event of “national resonance”.
The reality is though, as the Panel learned, that the rights to both the Grand National and the Derby have declined in value over the past 5 years by a remarkable 70%.
However, the assumption that this was wholly because of the listed events status of both races, and that its removal would thereby lead to fiercer competition and a higher price for their rights, was undermined by BSkyB’s evidence.
They contended that one-off sporting events of whatever magnitude were of much lower priority for them than series of race meetings over a year that enabled them to build up a subscriber base.
Whilst the Jockey Club agreed that there were other contributory factors in a difficult economic climate, they maintained their contention that the presence of their top two events as Group A listed events had resulted in a false market which impacted significantly on value.
But as with most governing bodies of other sports, they declined to put a specific figure on the loss that could be attributed to listing alone.
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though the panel’s report then goes on to say:
"The BBC will broadcast the Grand National and The Derby until 2010. The Racing Channel will also broadcast these races up to 2010.",
apparently unaware that The Racing Channel lost Aintree in 2001, became defunct in 2003, and that for several years now the "other" live broadcaster has been Racing UK.
no clue as to amount paid in the BBC’s published accounts or those of RUK.
though RUK’s accounts do say that for the whole of 2008 RUK paid GBP 2.4m to the company owning the 13 "Jockey Club" courses (so including all races from aintree, cheltenham, epsom, haydock, kempton, newmarket, sandown).
The BBC pay peanuts (if that), to screen one of the world’s most exciting and traditional sporting spectacles, internationally reknowned, full of thrills and spills, loved by every single sector of the community, male and female, young and old, and talked about (even anticipated), for a week in advance in just about every social environment in the country.
The BBC pay £200m of licence payers money to broadcast nineteen of the most tedious, brain-numbing activities known to humanity, universally derided by comedians, wits and X-Box games designers the world over, a zero-rating TV experience the previous broadcaster would have paid someone a million quid to take off their hands, and of interest only to left-brained dangleberries with an imagination bypass and anticipated only by viewers of cretin accessory, "Top Gear"
Go figure.
nor could the panel:
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164. The Panel were informed that the BBC does not have any formal commitment or substantive obligation to bid for, or to screen, listed events (paragraphs 69-71).At the same time it may be seen as a major beneficiary of their existence.
In practice, the overwhelming majority of the current Group A listed events are broadcast by the BBC.
At the same time, it became clear from the Panel’s consumer research that the public expects the BBC to cover such events.
BMRB reported (paragraph 50) that 82% of respondents believed that they had an entitlement to watch certain key events free-to-air because they paid a TV licence fee.
The BBC defends its absence of a clear commitment to listed events by saying that “it must assess the value of particular sports to licence fee payers taking into account the public service value to the BBC’s portfolio”.
In practical terms this has meant in recent times that the BBC has declined to bid for cricket Test matches (which are currently Group B events) and paid a substantial sum for the rights to Formula 1 motor racing (not currently listed).
BSkyB contend that such decisions, coupled with the guaranteed income provided by the licence fee and the continued existence of listed events cannot be seen as “acceptable”.
It is also interesting to note that whilst recent BBC coverage of Formula 1 may have attracted significant audiences, Formula 1 attracted little support from the general public in BMRB’s research for the Panel as a sporting event that ought to be protected and listed.
165. The Panel recognises the demand on BBC resources, but it also finds compelling evidence of public expectation that the BBC should give a higher priority to listed events. The Panel hopes that this is recognised by the current internal BBC review of what the Corporation’s size and scope should be in the future…….
166. BBC Sport also has in place a Fair Trading Approval process designed to ensure that the Corporation pays a fair price for the sports rights it purchases.
The Government may wish to seek reassurance in future that the BBC Trust recognises the uniquely strong position that the BBC enjoys in the sports rights market, what responsibilities this should bring with it, and that sports rights holders have adequate recourse to the Trust if any issues arise.
167. In summary, the Panel is of the view that the BBC has a responsibility to a listed events regime for so long as one exists, which is greater still in the difficult economic circumstances in which other free-to-air terrestrial broadcasters find themselves.
168. In the Panel’s view, however, listed events by no means have a certain long-term future. The changing media landscape may render them obsolete sooner than some might expect.
That time might arrive more quickly if the current free-to-air and Pay TV broadcasters came together – as they did with Freeview – to agree voluntarily a list of events that they would guarantee free-to-air to the widest audience; and the Panel has suggested (paragraph 162) that there may be merit in looking at whether the current 95% threshold hinders that outcome.
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[ to benefit from the listing regime, broadcasters have to be both free-to-air and capable of reaching 95% of the UK population – currently limiting the list to BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4, and Five ]
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64. The Panel heard widespread concerns from within the sports industry about the long-term value of its TV rights. Confidence had clearly been shaken during the recent economic downturn, and particularly following the impact of significantly reduced advertising revenues on the relevant terrestrial channels.
65. ITV, Channel 4 and Five talked openly to the Panel about their limited, but as they saw it realistic, ambitions with regard to sports broadcasting. All three support the continuation of a listed events regime.
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Not as much as racing could get if they were allowed to sell it to Sky.
Well if they do that’s me ******. As I shall never knowingly put a single penny in that **** Murdock’s pocket.
I think we need to be careful of not taking too much of an ‘Accountancy’ position on this and lose sight of the bigger picture. The Grand National is whether we like it or not British Racings last bastion of mass appeal and I think old Auntie does a pretty good job of promoting it to the widest possible audience, rather than squeezing it in between Soccer a.m. and Soccer p.m. (or whatever it’s called).
Put a price on that.
- Total Posts 17716
though the panel’s report then goes on to say:
"The BBC will broadcast the Grand National and The Derby until 2010. The Racing Channel will also broadcast these races up to 2010.",
apparently unaware that The Racing Channel lost Aintree in 2001, became defunct in 2003, and that for several years now the "other" live broadcaster has been Racing UK.
I find it very shocking that the august Committee issuing decrees on these at not-so-marginally important matters about broadcasting, did not even know
who
the broadcasters were!
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