British broadcaster ITV will live stream horse racing to smartphones and tablets across Ireland and the United Kingdom through its ITV Hub iPhone and Android app, a move the industry is hoping will boost dwindling audience numbers. As part of a four-year deal to commence in 2017, ITV snared the broadcasting rights to UK horseracing from Channel 4, and has quickly turned its attention to delivering the sport maximum exposure through a multi-platform offering.
Its ITV Hub entertainment app, available on and the iTunes App Store, is a key part of that strategy. In addition to providing close to 100 days of race-day coverage across its free-to-air channels, ITV will also offer iOS and Android users a live stream of all race meetings in the UK through ITV Hub.
That includes marquee meetings such as the Grand National, the Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot, the Derby and Kempton on Boxing Day, which mobile sports viewers will be able to watch on their iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or other mobile device.
ITV Hub, which is available from the App Store on iTunes and on Google Play, will also show replays of each of the meetings.
Prior to ITV securing the broadcast rights, horse racing fans who opted to watch races on tablets or smartphones did so through the Channel 4 on Demand app. But faced with declining viewers of major racing festivals in recent years, Racecourse Media Group, the company charged with managing media rights for racecourses across the UK, decided a change of host broadcaster was in order.
Racecourse Media Group are forecasting that a switch to ITV, which last televised horse racing in the UK 1985, will expand the sport’s audience reach across TV and mobile platforms. The deal complements a growing portfolio of sports rights for ITV, which also televises the French Open, Tour de France, 6 Nations Rugby and matches featuring the England football team.
That includes marquee meetings such as the Grand National, the Cheltenham Festival, Royal Ascot, the Derby and Kempton on Boxing Day, which mobile sports viewers will be able to watch on their iPhone, Samsung Galaxy or other mobile device.
ITV Hub, which is available from the App Store on iTunes and on Google Play, will also show replays of each of the meetings.
Prior to ITV securing the broadcast rights, horse racing fans who opted to watch races on tablets or smartphones did so through the Channel 4 on Demand app. But faced with declining viewers of major racing festivals in recent years, Racecourse Media Group, the company charged with managing media rights for racecourses across the UK, decided a change of host broadcaster was in order.
Racecourse Media Group are forecasting that a switch to ITV, which last televised horse racing in the UK 1985, will expand the sport’s audience reach across TV and mobile platforms. The deal complements a growing portfolio of sports rights for ITV, which also televises the French Open, Tour de France, 6 Nations Rugby and matches featuring the England football team.
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