4Racing has announced an exciting enhancement to their TV product: Africa’s dedicated horse racing channel, featuring the best international and local horse racing, Racing 240 (Channel 240 on DSTV), is transitioning to High Definition.
4Racing’s Head of Content, Stephen Watson said, “This is a huge step forward for the sport of horse racing and the culmination of all the work done since our inception to transition racing to higher broadcast standards. As reflected in our Nielsen Sports SA data, the Racing 240 channel has seen significant month-on-month viewership growth over the past 18 months, with no signs of plateauing and the channel performs well amongst its peers within SuperSport’s strong sports channel bouquet.”
“Additionally, we have effected an early contract renewal with MultiChoice, so will be upgrading Racing 240 to HD on a new year multi-year term,” he added.
Nielsen Sports SA Managing Director, Tumelo Selikane, confirmed, “At Nielsen Sports SA, we have diligently tracked Racing240 since April 2022. Previously, Telly Track broadcasted horse racing on DSTV, amassing a total unique audience of 1.9 million. However, Racing240, starting from ground zero, has impressively grown its total unique TV audience to 3.4 million to date.”
“We are proud to be their partner and to monitor their remarkable growth numbers. We eagerly anticipate the next three-year partnership with DSTV and what it holds for the future of Racing240.”
The new channel delivery path to MultiChoice’s HD uplink facilities in the United Kingdom will be fully configured and tested by the associated technical teams in the coming weeks and once signed off by both sides, a phased roll-out will commence across the continent, with a ‘go live’ date to be announced in due course.
Multichoice CEO Marc Jury commented: “Racing 240 has grown in popularity with our viewers across all subscription packages, so we are delighted to have reached agreement to upgrade the channel to High Definition on a new multi-year term. Having apremier horse racing channel within our existing dedicated sports channels bouquet aligns well with our strategy to continue bringing the very best international and local sporting action to our subscribers.”
In conclusion, 4Racing’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms Fundi Sithebe said, “This is a significant milestone for the industry at large, with far reaching benefits for all racing stakeholders. Our broadcast is the shop window to our sport and we are deeply appreciative of both the working relationship and opportunity MultiChoice has given us to showcase racing in HD. We are very excited to offer this enhanced HD viewing experience to all racing patrons, punters and fans.”
- Media release by 4Racing on Thursday 28 March 2024.
