Post by BVADMIN on Dec 11, 2017 21:01:40 GMT
RPGTV signs three-year content deal with Arc....
BY JONATHAN KAY OF THE RACING POST
RACING Post Greyhound TV has agreed a three-year deal with Arena Racing Company (Arc) for content from January 1 onwards.
As a result, it will be a substantial change for RPGTV from the start of 2018 with only Crayford, Newcastle, Peterborough, Sunderland and Towcester remaining from tracks currently on the roster.
Nottingham, Poole, Sheffield and Yarmouth will be included for the first time.
Kevan Moretti, executive producer of RPGTV since the free-to-air channel’s launch in December 2011, and who is now adding the roles of chairman and chief executive of Greyhound TV Ltd, said: “After an extensive process we are pleased to announce that GTV Limited, the company which commissions the programme RPGTV, has reached an agreement with Arena Racing Company (Arc) for the supply of 13 fixtures, seven evenings a week to RPGTV from January 1.
“This announcement marks the ending of that process and the beginning of a very new-look RPGTV for 2018.
“One important step forward for GTV out of these arrangements is that RPGTV will have two new Sunday evening race meetings from Poole and Towcester, taking RPGTV to broadcasting 14 fixtures per week, two meetings every night.”
Arc’s betting shop arm, The Racing Partnership, launches a greyhound service on January 1 but the agreement with GTV also delivers a selection of RPGTV-only content – there will be 164 Arc fixtures in the service annually that will be unique to RPGTV.
With Crayford, the only remaining bookmaker-owned track to feature, continuing to run on a Saturday evening independently as an RPGTV fixture, RPGTV will have in excess of 200 unique fixtures per year.
RPGTV and Arc will work together to schedule an optimum mix of open and graded racing from these non-betting shop fixtures.
Opening night for the new-look RPGTV will be on January 1, with the first broadcast being a solo fixture from Nottingham on the evening of New Year’s Day.
Arc chief executive Martin Cruddace said: “We are delighted that RPGTV has chosen Greyhound Media Group [the track grouping aligned to Arc] as the supplier for its fantastic evening service.
“We look forward to providing greyhound racing from long-established tracks with a proven record on integrity and welfare. RPGTV is an essential part of maintaining the popularity of the sport.”
Moretti added: “From the start of this process GTV set out to maintain a catalogue of content from the broadest base of contributors. Our vocation remains as it always has, is to bring the best of the sport to the public’s attention.
“GTV would have much preferred the sharing of the RPGTV schedule among all the interested parties – Arc, SIS and the independent tracks. However, the recent and decisive changes in the rights landscape and the nature of the proposals received wouldn’t allow us to do that.
“While we very much look forward to working with Martin Cruddace, Mark Kingston and the team at Arc, I would also like to personally thank Richard Ames and Gordon Bissett at SIS for their proposals and continued support for RPGTV.
“We will continue to have commercial arrangements and dealings with SIS and very much value their contributions, past, present, and going forwards.
“I will be sad to see the likes of Henlow, Central Park, Harlow, and Doncaster leave the RPGTV roster for now. I wish them every success.
“I cannot compliment these tracks highly enough for their past commitment and contribution to the show. I sincerely hope we will see them back at some stage in some future broadcast.”
Broadcast times for RPGTV will change on Mondays to Fridays, with a 6pm start (from 7pm) and 10pm finish. Sunday shows will be 6pm through to 10pm, while the Saturday broadcast will be 7pm to 11pm.
RPGTV can be found on Sky channel Frontrunner 468 and Freesat 250.