Australia's two key racing broadcasters, Sky Racing and Racing.com, have reported significant surge in viewership and engagement during the COVID-19 lockdowns, especially around feature Saturday meetings, with a broader sporting audience attracted to live racing in the absence of other live sporting events.
Everyone you speak to in the thoroughbred industry speaks of the importance of the fact that racing has continued in every state except Tasmania, but while keeping the commercial wheels of the industry turning is crucial, attracting a new fan base could play a major role in building a more prosperous future.
Tabcorp's Executive General Manager - Media and International, Darren Pearce, who oversees all of Sky Racing's operations, said the opportunity to reach bigger audiences in this time is one the industry can not afford to waste.
"I think across Australia and the world there has been suspension of most live sporting events and racing events. That means there is a significant opportunity for Australian racing given we have got great leadership in Australian racing and they’ve been able to win the confidence of government and the community to race on," he told TDN AusNZ.
"It’s given Australian racing the opportunity to be in the spotlight for the world sporting audience." - Darren Pearce
"It’s given Australian racing the opportunity to be in the spotlight for the world sporting audience, not just the Australian sporting audience and off the back of that we have had massive engagement from sports fans around the world.
"What we would hope is that firstly, it is keeping Australian racing fans engaged, but it is also creating some new fans for racing, who will support the industry going forward, both here and abroad."
Darren Pearce (right) | Image by Matt Coughlan courtesy of AAP Photos
Key audience metrics surge
Quantifying that surge in interest, Pearce said the growth in numbers was evident across all platforms, subscription broadcast, digital broadcast and radio.
"Sky has been the number one channel on Foxtel for the last five Saturdays in a row and the audience figures for the Sydney carnival just concluded were up 36 per cent year-on-year. When you look back and see last year was Winx's farewell, and that was a national event and had huge ratings at the time, to be up another 36 per cent on that, is significant," he said.
"Last year was Winx's farewell, and that was a national event and had huge ratings at the time, to be up another 36 per cent on that, is significant." - Darren Pearce
"Even on our biggest days, our digital audience through the TAB App, it would be rare to go over 500,000 hits, but on Day 1 of The Championships, we had over 1 million hits for Sky vision on the TAB App.
"We've got almost 100,000 downloads of our newly active, Sky Racing Active platform while radio has been strengthening year on year. Across radio, TV and digital, there has been growth on all platforms, setting new benchmarks every time we front up. What that probably tells you, with the momentum that has been built, is that we are connecting to sports fans, and they are sticking and bringing friends with them because the growth curve is continuing."
The growth in live streaming numbers is mirrored by growing engagement in our race-day broadcasts on free-to-air and pay TV | Image by Darren England courtesy of AAP Photos
Racing.com, which primarily broadcasts Victorian and South Australian racing, is also reporting a surge in users, particularly on its live stream, with a 122 per cent growth in users year on year in March. Chief Executive Officer Andrew Catterall said the growth of audience on a national level was an endorsement of the attraction of thoroughbred racing to a broader audience.
"The growth in live streaming numbers is mirrored by growing engagement in our race-day broadcasts on free-to-air and pay TV, as people turn to racing for entertainment in the absence of other live sports," Catterall said.
"The industry has done a great job enforcing strict COVID protocols onto racecourses, and we have been able to work with our broadcast partners TRP, Gravity and our studio here at the AFL, to find innovative new ways to deliver highly engaging race-day broadcasts with less people and technology on the racecourse."
Strict COVID protocols meant broadcasters have had to find innovative new ways to deliver highly engaging race-day broadcasts | Image by Albert Perez courtesy of AAP Photos
Global reach at an all-time high
Sky Racing has the prime responsibility for expanding Australian racing to an international audience and with a void in live sports and racing globally, its reach has never been so broad.
"We are now distributing Australian racing to 65 countries around the world with an average weekend audience of 65 million people, which is fantastic, through our Sky International audience," Pearce said.
"We are now distributing Australian racing to 65 countries around the world with an average weekend audience of 65 million people." - Darren Pearce
"We are going to countries we have never been to before such as Turkey, the Netherlands, Belgium and even Russia with Australian racing. It is great to be able to have quality content and for Australian racing to have put in place the protocols to allow it to continue and we’re blessed to have the opportunity to take it to the world."
Adapting to new circumstances and a new audience
With the opportunity comes the challenge of ensuring the product is being presented in a way to facilitate maximum engagement with these new audiences.
Biosecurity protocols have prevented Sky Racing from many of the initiatives it would have usually taken with such an opportunity, but it continues to pursue ways of using innovation to engage with both existing and new audiences.
Biosecurity protocols have prevented Sky Racing from many of the initiatives it would have usually taken | Image by David Moir courtesy of AAP Photos
"The problem that COVID presents logistically is that there are strict biosecurity protocols on racetracks around the country. So that means our ability to change the broadcast is restricted because we can only have minimal staff on course to comply with the protocols." Pearce said.
"Certainly there is an opportunity to do something using new technology and using distribution to be innovative and our team has been incredible at doing that. We’ve set-up a whole raft of remote broadcast solutions, we are doing form shows from people's lounge rooms and studies and stitching that together across the country.
"We’ve set-up a whole raft of remote broadcast solutions." - Darren Pearce
"We’ve got studios in Melbourne, Sydney, French's Forest, Brisbane and broadcasters here, there and everywhere and we have been able to stitch together quality broadcasts. Where people would generally come together in a central studio or race track, we have had to do things differently because of COVID and the innovation and technology that has been adopted by the team has allowed us to continue to broadcast engaging content and showcase racing incredibly well."
Sky working on a free-to-air offering
With pubs, clubs and agencies closed, Sky Racing's reach in Australia is restricted to those who either have Foxtel or can view its channels via apps or websites. Racing.com, on the other hand, has a free-to-air television platform to showcase its racing product, completed by live streaming through its app and website.
Sky Racing are working on a free-to-air offering | Image by Vince Caligiuri courtesy of AAP Photos
The Seven Network, who broadcast The Championships, confirmed on Thursday it will give additional free-to-air exposure on its main channels to thoroughbred racing in Victoria, South Australia and Queensland over the next seven weeks while Pearce said Tabcorp is working closely with networks to broker a deal which would get its Thoroughbred Central product onto a free-to-air.
"For those fans who enjoy Sky Racing and can't get it, we are working with the networks at the moment to see if there is an opportunity to get Thoroughbred Central out to those people and to continue to grow racing's audience, or keep those people who can’t go to a pub or club or local agency engaged," Pearce said.
"We are working with a couple of networks at the moment to see if we can stand that opportunity up and to grow racing fans and keep racing fans engaged."
An opportunity not to be missed
While there may be interstate competition across broadcasters, with Sky Racing and Racing.com currently in a heated battle for the future broadcast rights to Queensland racing, they are united by the sense of purpose and opportunity in the current environment.
Sky Racing and Racing.com are currently in a heated battle for the future broadcast rights to Queensland racing | Image by Vince Caligiuri courtesy of AAP Photos
Pearce, formerly a long-term Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Turf Club, says it is an opportunity which can't be missed.
"Racing has the chance to be the sport in the spotlight for the Australian sports loving public, not just the racing public. The big opportunity for racing now is to convert those new fans who are tuned in to racing because it is the only live sport going, to ensure they stick with racing. That is the real growth engine for racing into the future," he said.
"Here's a unique scenario for racing to be on the pedestal for sports fans. We have to do what we can to encourage those new people to racing and get them to stick." - Darren Pearce
"Usually the Australian sporting landscape is very fragmented, where you have racing on at the same time as rugby league or AFL or cricket or whatever else. We are a sports loving nation and we usually have significant competition for the sports fans' attention. Here's a unique scenario for racing to be on the pedestal for sports fans. We have to do what we can to encourage those new people to racing and get them to stick."
