RTV to show Irish action on December 26 on one-off free-to-air TV channel

Racing TV (RTV) has moved to calm concerns surrounding the jam-packed December 26 racing schedule by revealing it will produce a separate, dedicated Irish racing broadcast on free-to-air television for one day only.

The programme, which will be available to view on the FreeSports television channel in Britain and Ireland, as well as RTV Extra's digital platforms, will show every race from Leopardstown, Limerick and Down Royal in full, alongside previews and analysis.

The broadcaster came under fire this month following the broadcast of John Durkan Memorial Chase day at Punchestown, with the Grade 1 feature one of a number of races shown in a split screen format during the afternoon.

There are expected to be 55 races across eight meetings in the space of around four hours on December 26, equating to a race roughly every four and a half minutes.

"We took on board what everyone said," said RTV director of communications Seb Vance. "There isn't any other session in the calendar where we'll be showing eight fixtures, so it's a one off and we want to ensure that as many people as possible can enjoy the racing on the 26th."

He added: "What happened at Punchestown, which we've been through since, was very unfortunate with Davy Russell taking ill and requests for races to be delayed not fully accepted.

"The clashes didn't make for a satisfactory viewing experience, but the various parties have worked very closely with us on the race times over the festive period and beyond.

"We looked at the racecards for the 26th and as there are two terrestrial broadcasters, the transmission times are fixed and we weren't able to move certain race times. That means there are races going off at the same time, so we just felt we would provide a separate distribution for the Irish feed."

Racing TV's Irish teamCredit: Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

The Irish production, on air from 11.30am to 4pm, will be hosted by Gary O'Brien and will be available to watch for Sky subscribers in Britain and Ireland on channels 422 and 435.

Last week, RTV had announced the three Irish meetings on December 26 will have their own separate digital platform in addition to featuring on the main channel.

Vance added: "Our focus is very much on Racing TV Extra and we're going to look to develop those dedicated feeds next year. We very much see that as the future."

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