Bookmakers warn of “horrendous” spike in racing streaming costs
Racecourses understood to be asking for new fees based on turnover rather than a fixed cost per stream
Bookmakers have warned of a “horrendous” spike in the costs of streaming horseracing online under new commercial terms proposed by racecourse media groups.
EGR understands The Racing Partnership (TRP) – the media rights manager for Arena Racing Company (ARC) – and RMG – which manages rights for 35 tracks – are asking operators for streaming fees based on turnover on streamed races rather than the existing model of a fixed cost per stream.
One operator warned the change would lead to a “horrendous” increase in costs, while another said it could lead to the rolling back of concessions like Best Odds Guaranteed.
A source from a UK bookmaker compared the situation to 2017 when bookmakers refused to pay extra fees to ARC for in-shop racing video and were left without racing from ARC tracks for up to seven months.
“That situation was detrimental to everyone and made us all look silly,” the bookmaker source said.
Goodwood Racecourse
The exec called on UK operators to work together to secure more favourable terms this time around, rather than one operator “breaking ranks” and agreeing to pay the increased fees.
ARC-owned racecourses including Doncaster, Bath, Newcastle and Brighton, while RMG manages rights for tracks like Goodwood, Aintree, Cheltenham and Epsom.
ARC and RMG declined to comment.