The Victoria Racing Club, Tabcorp and Nine have signed a “groundbreaking” broadcast, media and sponsorship deal for the Melbourne Cup Carnival from 2024 to 2029.
The agreement, believed to be worth up to $80 million, will see year-round sponsorship and local and international media rights for the carnival enhanced.
This comes after months of tense negotiations between the three parties after Nine remained the only major television network in the race for the rights.
The Seven Network, which broadcasts horse racing every Saturday, angrily pulled out of the TV rights to the Carnival Cup race last year.
The carnival will be broadcast on all SKY platforms and the TAB app, with Tabcorp gaining the right to sell coverage to betting providers.
Nine will be a complimentary partner for the Melbourne Cup Carnival, including audio-visual rights for broadcast, mobile, digital and social platforms.
Tabcorp will be the exclusive betting integration partner for Nine's broadcast of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
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Nine will be the home of broadcasts on Derby Day, Melbourne Cup Day, VRC Oaks Day and Champions Stakes Day.
All four days of the carnival will be broadcast live, free and in HD on Channel 9 and streamed on 9Now.
A key element of the partnership will see VRC take the reins in production management of racing coverage through VRC Media, working with Tabcorp and Nine to elevate the way racing is broadcast around the world.
Channel 10 acquired the free-to-air rights to the carnival over the past five years, in what many viewed as a largely failed $100 million venture.
Eddie McGuire has hosted coverage for the past 10 carnivals, in a move that has been widely criticized for McGuire's perceived lack of racing knowledge.
This partnership allows the VRC to invest strategically over the long term in key areas of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, member engagement, the year-round racing program, Flemington Racecourse tracks and facilities, and the wider community.
It will also bring significant new investment to the racing industry which will support and fund innovations on and off the track, create new jobs, and enhance horse welfare initiatives.
The agreement represents a partnership that includes broadcast, content, partnership rights and race naming rights.
VRC Chairman Neil Wilson said: “VRC is pleased to expand and strengthen its long-term partnership with Tabcorp. As Australia’s first major event, the Melbourne Cup Carnival will fit right into Nine’s Wide World of Sport’s major events coverage calendar.
“The Melbourne Cup Carnival is Australia’s pre-eminent racing event, and the partnership continues VRC’s steadfast commitment to showcasing the best that the sport of racing has to offer and attracting new fans to the sport,” he said.
“The iconic nature of this event was highlighted by the successful 2023 Melbourne Cup Carnival, which saw more than 262,000 racing fans at Flemington and millions more interact with the Lexus Melbourne Cup at home and abroad.
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“The Melbourne Cup Carnival is one of Australia's most culturally and economically significant major events, and it takes place right here in Melbourne – considered by many to be the sporting capital of the world.
“As its custodian, the VRC is laser-focused on protecting the history and tradition of Cup Week, which so many Australians love, while innovating for the future and investing in our club and its flagship event, the Melbourne Cup Carnival.”
“This historic partnership is not only beneficial to Melbourne and Victoria racing, but also ensures our sport enjoys priority across multiple platforms and channels.
“The partnership will enhance the community engagement and economic contribution following the 2023 Melbourne Cup Carnival, which has seen more than $500,000 raised for various charitable groups, create an estimated 16,000 jobs, and connect thousands of visitors to Victoria from international and national locations. Highlighting The broader impact of the event.”
The Melbourne Cup Carnival provided an economic benefit of $422.1 million to Victoria in 2022, making it the largest economic contributor to the state of any major annual sporting event in the past decade, with early modeling suggesting the economic impact of 2023 will be greater than 2022.
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In 2022, one in two adult Australians participated in Melbourne Cup Day in some way, and in 2023, the race itself was broadcast to 209 countries and territories with a potential global reach of 750 million people.
VRC CEO Steve Rozic said the partnership underscores the club's strategic commitment to being a global leader in racing, media, sponsorship and the event experience.
“The partnership with Tabcorp and the arrangements with Nine have been developed through our close strategic alignment and desire for growth and innovation in our industry,” Mr Rozic said.
“We are delighted that in 2024 the Melbourne Cup Carnival will join nine major events alongside the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Australian Open and State of Origin.
“Nine’s ability to showcase coverage of Melbourne Cup Carnival races and events across the depth of their leading broadcast and live assets results in a compelling partnership outcome.”
“Tabcorp’s partnership with VRC and Nine is the most innovative in Australian sport and we can’t wait to bring our entire digital, broadcast and retail ecosystem together to grow and promote the Melbourne Cup Carnival together,” Tabcorp CEO Adam Rettenskilde said.
Originally published as Melbourne Cup TV rights deal signed by VRC, Tabcorp and Nine in deal worth up to $100m
