Victoria Racing Club signs for Seven racing channel
Seven secures racing partners for its new channel, to replace Fresh Ideas.
- Published by David Knox
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The Victoria Racing Club has formally committed to the new Seven West Media proposal for a new dedicated free-to-air channel, joining the Melbourne Racing Club, the Moonee Valley Racing Club and Country Racing Victoria.
The service will be broadcast on Channel 78, formerly the Fresh Ideas datacasting channel and be integrated with RV’s digital platform, Racing.com. The channel stopped broadcasting late last year.
The official launch of the new channel will happen on Saturday, August 29 but Seven will re-transmit the existing Racing Live coverage from Racing.com this week.
“This is an historic day for the industry with all the Victorian clubs now united in committing to support the Seven West Media proposal,” Racing Victoria chief executive Bernard Saundry said.
“This paves the way for the Victorian industry to achieve its future goal of ensuring that Victorian thoroughbred racing can be viewed in every lounge room and on every mobile phone across Australia.”
Seven will also be able to transmit the channel into Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
Source: Racing.com
17 Responses
One HD started as an all-sports channel but had to include other programming when the ratings didn’t stack up. If TEN couldn’t make a general sports format work, how will Seven fare with a channel broadcasting only racing?
It’ll be a data casting channel, those aren’t monitored for ratings.
Video quality on a “Datacasting” channel isn’t very good, Seven may be tempted to “steal” some bandwidth from their other channels. Datacasting channels have no commercial content time limits, so we’ll see how Seven gets it’s money back. I’d assume that the major horse races like the Melbourne Cup, The Golden Slipper, The Oaks,The Cox Plate, etc. will be simulcast on another channel. Home shopping when the hay-burners are asleep?
Okay, when exactly this week will they start transmitting? Probably should keep an eye on the EPG for 78 to reappear.
Channel 78 reappeared about 2 weeks ago as Seven Digital 4, it has been simulcasting what the main channel 7 has on…I only saw it again after retuning my TV, so you may have to do the same to get in the EPG on the TV.
I did a re-scan and it didn’t appear.
May depend on how old your TV is, Cam is correct it is up and running with a 7 simulcast, however the channel is running in Mpeg 4, I’ve been running all day (and will be again tomorrow), trying to get some Pubs up and running on 78. Most TV’s that aren’t coming up with a picture still tune in the 78, however with most having a No Service message on the screen moving around. This is similar in those venues with the Sky Trackside (Ch 608), picture which is also Mpeg 4, have had to put anm Mpeg 4 compliant STB in some venues and most of those were LG TV’s with 2009 and under dates on the back near the serial number.
A channel dedicated to humans using animals for entertainment and gambling, no thanks.
Do you know if this channel will just be Vic racing? Or will it be events from around the country?
I believe just Vic.
Just Victorian Racing, in January this year Racing NSW secured a long-term partnership with Tabcorp. (who own Sky Racing), Queensland and the other states are also tied to Tabcorp.
Basically on Christmas Eve the shareholders of TVN agreed to a divorce and go their own way in negotiating broadcasting deals. Which is why TVN was shut-down and the deals have gone they way they have.
So does this channel go towards ch 7 nightly shares or will it be like the infomercial channels???
It does not.
Thanks was just curious to how it worked 🙂
Will that also include Tasmania ?
VRC article did not reference Tassie so I can’t answer that yet. I’d say if you got Fresh Ideas then you’d likely get this.
Wow, a new non-shopping channel! It’s like… real content-ish, if your not into horses. So next questions, is what happens to 7TWO telecast and of course more importanly the Melbourne Cup/Spring Carnival???