ITV RACING will kick start 2021 with brand new sponsors of their live racing coverage and their magazine programme, The Opening Show.
Paddy Power will take the reins as title sponsors of all Live Racing fixtures across the ITV main channel and ITV4 from January 1, while The Opening Show will be sponsored by stablemates Betfair as part of a two-year deal.
The partnership, negotiated by MediaCom, includes broadcast, catch up, digital, social, podcast and licensing rights and will see Flutter brands feature in the ITV Racing App (inc ITV7 competition). Creative execution will be produced by ITV Creative.
Earlier this year, ITV Sport announced that they would remain the exclusive free-to-air broadcaster of horse racing until 2023, broadcasting nearly 100 days of racing every year.
The ITV Racing team, led by Ed Chamberlin, along with co-presenters Francesca Cumani and Oli Bell brings viewers comprehensive coverage across ITV channels and the ITV Hub, which can be accessed on all mobile devices.
ITV Racing coverage comprises marquee events such as The Festival at Cheltenham presented by Magners, the Randox Health Grand National Meeting from Aintree, The Derby Festival from Epsom Downs, Royal Ascot and QIPCO British Champions Day from Ascot, Qatar Goodwood Festival, Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Festival from York and the St Leger Festival from Doncaster.
The BAFTA Award winning ITV Racing coverage has also witnessed a significant increase in ratings, with coverage across 2020 22 per cent higher than in 2019.
Mark Trinder, Director of Commercial Sales and Partnerships at ITV, said: "ITV Racing has become the bedrock of our ITV Sport programming calendar.
"The weekly output and excellent expert presentation has taken Racing to new levels in terms of profile and audiences.
"I welcome Flutter Entertainment to the fold as our new broadcast sponsor. It's great to be working alongside the team there on what I'm sure will be another vintage year at the races."
Michelle Spillane, Marketing Director at Paddy Power, said: "ITV Racing has been brilliant for the sport for the last four years and we viewed it as a natural synergy to become headline sponsor for the BAFTA Award winning show.
"We're looking forward to working with the immensely-talented ITV team for at least the next two years and it's great to be an integral part of a presentation that produces brilliant quality sporting coverage for our customers week in week out."
Stephen Mault, Marketing Director at Betfair, said: ''Just like Betfair, The Opening Show is first port of call for all Horse Racing fans on a Saturday morning and for all the big festivals so we are delighted to support a show that is such a significant launching pad for the top quality Racing coverage ITV produces.
"Oli Bell, with his team, collaborate well, often in difficult conditions and display great agility. They also have tenacious will to be the best.
"All qualities which Betfair cherish and adhere to for the benefit of our customers. We are really looking forward to working with them.''
