RMG and Arc bury the hatchet and join forces again in new international rights joint-venture

Racing's two media rights powers have buried the hatchet and come together to distribute British racing to international tote operators and bookmakers.

The five-year partnership between Racecourse Media Group (RMG) and Arena Racing Company (Arc) will start in January, healing an acrimonious split which took place more than five years ago.

A service for fixed-odds territories abroad will broadcast coverage from British racecourses, plus Arc's Premier Greyhound Racing service, while a new tote service promoting British and Irish racing will come under the banner of GBI Racing.

GBI Racing had previously served a similar function between 2010 and 2018 when it was a joint-venture between RMG's Racing UK (now Racing TV) and At The Races, in which Arc is the driving force.

However, in 2018 RMG and SIS broke away from the joint-venture, prompting a major row and leading the then Arc chairman David Thorpe to say the sport would be the loser as a result.

SIS will not be involved in the new arrangements, with the broadcast services for both tote and fixed-odds channels being provided by Arc's production business Vermantia.  

RMG and Arc said that aligning the two groups' rights would create new efficiencies and synergies, maximising returns to the sport, and would enable British and Irish racing to be effectively marketed and promoted to international audiences. 

In its previous guise GBI Racing was a financial success story, growing profits to hand back to shareholders from around £12 million in 2011 to £22 million in 2017. 

Arc's managing director of media and international Brendan Parnell said: "This partnership will offer British racing a unified export service, streamlined for our various international partners.

"Working with our colleagues at RMG, we look forward to offering and developing this efficient international platform to distribute and promote the sport around the world."

RMG chief executive Martin Stevenson thanked SIS for its work over the last five years.

He added: "I am delighted that British racing, and Irish racing via the tote service, will be sold and promoted as one package. 

"This will drive further value for our racecourses and provide a better product for our customers across the world. I look forward to working with Brendan and his team in creating this leading international service."

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