William Hill to Take Over Sponsorship of ITV Horse Racing Coverage

It has been reported that bookmakers William Hill will take over from Dubai as the official head sponsor of terrestrial television coverage of horse racing now that ITV has bought the rights to cover large racing events from Channel 4.

This makes 2016 a good year for sponsorship deals for William Hill, who earlier in the year signed a sponsorship deal with premiership football club Chelsea FC.

ITV takeover

The rights holders, led by Racecourse Media Group, were keen to revive the dwindling viewing numbers that horse racing has been receiving, and ITV beat off Sky and Channel 4 to earn the right to lead the charge.

The deal that ITV have struck for the rights to cover horse racing is reported to be worth £10 million, and includes naming rights throughout the four-year deal.

The coverage will be split between ITV’s main channel and ITV 4, with an entirely new team taking the reins in terms of hosting, led by Ed Chamberlin. The coverage will include big racing events including Qipco British Champions Day, Royal Ascot, and the Investec Derby.

The news of the switch from Channel 4 to ITV let to Dubai’s decision to end their sponsorship of British terrestrial coverage of horse racing, stating that the move across channels represented a “natural point of change”.

Commercial boost

This is a sensible time for William Hill to put their backing behind the horse racing coverage, due to possible changes in the way bookmakers can advertise.

There have been rumours that the government may want to put a stop to the advertising of betting companies before the 9pm watershed, but it is almost guaranteed that programme sponsorship will not be affected by these changes, putting William Hill in a strong position if the changes do come into effect.