And Paramount,Ten’s owner,said there was an upswing in viewers in the 16- to 39-year-old age bracket,with its 2022 Melbourne Cup coverage enjoying a rise of 15 per cent on 2021 in the key advertising demographic.
“We have enjoyed and continue to enjoy a positive,strategic and collaborative partnership with Victoria Racing Club,” a Network Ten spokesperson said. “Together,we have taken the Melbourne Cup Carnival to a new level and generation.”
Wilson said the way people watch racing had shifted rapidly since the last broadcast deal was done.
“I think people are consuming content,sport,very differently to what they did five years ago,whether it be long format or short format,” Wilson said.
“The next generation,particularly,are happy to switch to where they get the best experience.
“Over time,where does that lead? The consumers and the fans,and people that want to watch racing or the event or a combination of both,they’ll work that out.
“The market is very different[to what it was in 2019] and where that heads,we’ll see.”
Paramount would not comment on whether it was interested in bidding for the next set of rights,from 2024. But Seven’s head of sport Lewis Martin said he would certainly make a play to bring the Cup back to Seven.
“We’ve got a 52-week a year horse racing proposition,and we would love the Melbourne Cup carnival to be part of that,” Martin toldThe Age.
“We’ll certainly be more than happy to chat with the VRC about the Melbourne Cup in the future.”
Ten has integrated the Cup and Flemington racecourse into some of its regular programs,such asThe Project,The Bachelor,MasterChef andThe Living Room,but anecdotally,a lot of once-a-year punters missed this year’s race because they didn’t realise the Cup was on Ten and not Seven,pointing to an under-promotion of its broadcast by Ten. On Derby Day,Seven was broadcasting Sydney’s Golden Eagle meeting,and the two stations also went head-to-head on Cup and Stakes day.
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Rusted on racing fans have gravitated towards Racing.com on channel 78 over the past four years,particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic when racing prevailed as a sport while others were shut down for long periods. Racing.com is not part of the ratings survey,therefore does not count as part of the declining free-to-air figures,and was not a genuine competitor to Seven before 2019 when Cup week ratings were much stronger.
Also a contributing factor to the drop in ratings is the growth in mobile audiences since Ten first entered the deal with the VRC. Racing.com provides a free mobile broadcast through its app and is also available via Kayo,and a number of online bookmakers provide a feed to Sky Racing through their sites.
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