HBA Media secures global broadcast deals for Breeders’ Cup and Melbourne Cup
HBA Media, the renowned independent rights agency specialising in horse racing, has successfully inked multiple broadcast agreements spanning crucial international regions for two major horse racing events: the Breeders’ Cup in the United States and the prestigious Melbourne Cup in Australia.
The two-day Breeders’ Cup was recently held in Arcadia, California, on November 3-4. This high-profile event was produced by the national network NBC, with five championship races broadcast on its main channel. Additionally, the complete two-day event was streamed on Peacock, aired on USA Network, and available through FanDuel.
Notable broadcast partners for the Breeders’ Cup include ITV in the UK, ESPN in South America, FanCode in India, SuperSport in South Africa and Virgin Media in Ireland. HBA and the Breeders’ Cup are collaborating to produce the ‘Golden Hour’, distributed to various networks, including WeDo Sports in the DACH region of Europe, Polsat in Poland, racing.com in Australia, Setanta in the Balkans and some Eurasian markets.
“As we move into a second decade of partnership with the Breeders’ Cup, to have more mainstream sports networks than ever before showcasing these prestigious races is very positive as we continue to re-position horse racing as an in-demand product within the sports broadcasting industry,” explained Frank Sale, Managing Director of HBA Media.
Last year, HBA Media extended its longstanding agreement to provide exclusive linear and digital international distribution services for the Breeders’ Cup until 2024, marking over a decade of collaboration between the two entities.
Fresh broadcast partnerships have been established for the Melbourne Cup, including TransVision in Indonesia, Premier Sports in Southeast Asia and FanCode in India. Extensive race coverage will be provided by Sky in the UK and Ireland, Fox Sports in the US, ESPN across South and Central America, SportsMax in the Caribbean, SuperSport in sub-Saharan Africa, and DMI in the Middle East and North Africa.
The 2023 Melbourne Cup – the 163rd running of ‘the race the stops a nation’ – will unfold at Flemington Racecourse on Tuesday, November 7th.
The 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣ @lexusaustralia_ Melbourne Cup’s global audiences start with us 🏆🐎🇦🇺
🗓️: 7 November
📍: @FlemingtonVRC
🎟️: Tickets Available#melbournecup #peoplescup #MelbCupCarnival #Flemington #thoroughbred #horseracing pic.twitter.com/Koc9RkxKgN
— HBA Media (@_HBAMedia) November 6, 2023
In total, the high-profile horse racing action will be made available in at least 209 territories through 25 broadcasters, with the world feed being produced by the Victoria Racing Club (VRC).
Henry Birtles, CEO of HBA Media, expressed his satisfaction with the global reach achieved for the Australian event.
“We are delighted to have guaranteed the Melbourne Cup a global footprint that befits its status as one of the greatest occasions in sport, as well as improving the reach of the full Melbourne Cup Carnival,” Birtles said.
“The VRC’s continued investment in live and on-demand international content is an invaluable asset, and we are delighted that a global audience will be able to experience the full Carnival in all its splendour.”
HBA Media has maintained a strong partnership with the VRC since 2013 and continues to expand its global reach through new agreements, including recent deals with The Hong Kong Jockey Club, the NBCUniversal US network and the New York Racing Association in June of this year.
Image credit: Chris Phutully (PreciousBytes)
