HBA Media Media Rights Royal Ascot

HBA Media facilitate Royal Ascot coverage in over 170 territories increasing worldwide exposure for a third year running  

June 14, 2022

Royal Ascot, the showpiece of international horseracing in the United Kingdom, will be broadcast in over 170 territories throughout this week with more than 20 broadcasters worldwide showcasing the live action to reach every major continent. 

The increased worldwide exposure has been managed by media rights experts, HBA Media.

Host broadcaster ITV Racing will present all the action in a daily five-hour programme while Sky Sports Racing and Virgin Media will also service UK and Irish audiences.

NBC on Saturday, preceded by their digital arm, Peacock, will be on site and broadcasting to the United States whilst Racing.com will be transmitting from the course for Australia alongside Green Channel for Japan. 

This will be complemented by returning broadcasters that include Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT) (Scandinavia), RAI (Italy), Setanta(Baltics countries and Eurasia); Sport TV (Portugal), Silknet (Georgia), Polsat (Poland), CYTA (Cyprus) and WedoTV (Germany, Switzerland and Austria).

Other broadcasters taking coverage outside of Europe include Eclat (Southeast Asia) and Star+/ESPN (Latin America), with both offering access on their digital platforms. 19 countries in the Middle East and North Africa will have access to the racing through DMI (Dubai), while Wasu.TV will cater for the Chinese audience.

The Royal Meeting continues to have a strong presence in Oceania with Racing.com (Australia) being joined by Spark Sport servicing New Zealand.

Charlton TV will cover the action in Israel, while 48 countries in Africa are served by Super Sport. SportsMax continue to champion the racing and all its surrounding attractions in the Caribbean, whist Sport24 will ensure the event is seen on airlines and ships across the world.

Once again Reuters and Transworld Sports will distribute the full event to their wide networks of news outlets.

All international broadcasters will have access to the full 35-race schedule through the ITV world feed and a suite of promotional content and Royal Ascot related features.

For the first time, Ascot Racecourse in partnership with HBA Media, have commissioned a special one-hour live production – The Golden Hour – that takes in the best of the action on and off the course on Gold Cup Day (Thursday, 16th June).

Presented by Tom Stanley and Michelle Yu, the programme will celebrate the history and tradition of the occasion with a distinctly international focus to be showcased live across the globe.

Henry Birtles, Chief Executive of HBA Media, said:

“We are delighted with the international coverage secured for this most prestigious of race meetings. All eyes of the horseracing, lifestyle and news worlds are upon Royal Ascot and we look forward to delivering top quality coverage for our global audiences.”

Alastair Warwick, Managing Director of Ascot Racecourse, added:

“We are indebted to the work that HBA Media does to deliver truly global distribution for Royal Ascot and this year we are thrilled with the additional top-class production of the international broadcast package titled The Golden Hour.

“It is pleasing to see such widespread global interest in the Royal Meeting, which in turn also gives valuable exposure into new territories for our partners, suppliers and participants.”

HBA Media Media Rights Royal Ascot