25 June, 2015 |Racing.com staff
Racing.com Park Synthetic will host the first meeting broadcast on Channel 78.
(Image: Darren McNamara)
Victorian racing will be broadcast into metropolitan areas on free-to-air digital television from Friday with confirmation that Channel 78 will broadcast the meeting from Racing.com Park, Pakenham.
As part of its broader digital rights agreement with Racing Victoria, Seven West Media has agreed to broadcast the Racing Live feed from Racing.com until the new Racing.com racing network is launched in late August.
RV has now confirmed that Seven West Media will be able to transmit Channel 78 from Friday across its national metropolitan network in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. It means guaranteed daily coverage of Victorian racing in metropolitan areas.
A solution for regional free-to-air coverage is being worked upon, while discussions remain on-going with Tabcorp to again broadcast Victorian racing on Sky Racing’s wall-to-wall channels (Channels 519 and 520) into homes, pubs and clubs, both in the immediate and long-term future.
It has been confirmed that people with older televisions, in particular those purchased prior to 2009, may need to buy a set-top box or Personal Video Recorder (PVR) to view Channel 78.RV Chief Executive, Bernard Saundry, praised Seven West Media for moving swiftly to implement an interim solution following Sky Racing’s blackout, which came into effect on June 16.
“It is a valued gesture by Seven West Media to facilitate an interim broadcast from this Friday as our agreement is not for the launch of their showcase channel until 29 August,” Saundry said.
“This broadcast won’t reach all markets in the test period. There will be people in regional areas that cannot access the interim re-transmission of Racing.com on Channel 78. We’ll continue to work with Seven West Media on extending the coverage to regional areas as soon as possible.“
Punters, fans and participants in regional areas should be assured that they are an important part of Seven West Media’s broadcast plans for its showcase coverage once officially launched.
“Our goal remains to showcase Victorian thoroughbred racing to the widest possible audience to grow the sport.
”Victorian thoroughbred racing will continue to be streamed live and free across computers, tablets and mobiles via Racing.com, sportsbet.com.au and crownbet.com.au, while vision remains available in the state’s 92 retail TAB agencies.
