The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) will add a half-hour weekday horse racing show, Racing Today, to its SABC Sports channel in April for a three-year run and ten showcase horse racing events shown during primetime on SABC3, after signing a contract with 4Racing.
The arrangement with the SABC for Racing Today, a horse racing magazine show, and 4Racing’s showcase horse-racing events are entirely separate from 4Racing TV’s deal with MultiChoice.
4Racing provides the same content to MultiChoice’s DStv customers by showing the same horse-racing events to a pay-TV audience through the new Racing 240 TV channel, which MultiChoice launched to DStv in mid-January.
Racing Today will be available on SABC Sport, the South African public broadcaster’s digital terrestrial TV channel, beginning in April 2022. It will also be available on eMedia’s Openview satellite platform and Telkom’s TelkomONE video streaming service, but not on MultiChoice’s DStv or StarTimes’ StarSat platforms.
“We are happy to work with the SABC in this multi-year arrangement to ensure the sport of horse racing returns as a regular addition to the SABC’s premier sports programming,” says Fundi Sithebe, CEO of 4Racing.
“Having the country’s largest free-to-air broadcaster, with an audience of over 32 million across the country, helps us in fulfilling our purpose to reach new audiences, promote participation in and knowledge of the sport, and make horse racing more accessible.”
“Horse racing has long been a big part of the SABC Sports offering, and after a long absence from our platforms, it’s amazing to have the sport of kings back on television on the public broadcaster,” says Gary Rathbone, the head of SABC Sport.
“I am confident that being able to feature South Africa’s best thoroughbreds and champion jockeys fighting it out in these iconic races on the annual calendar will excite millions of South Africans who will now be able to access the best racing on offer live and free on the SABC,” Rathbone concluded.
