Nine and Seven to deliver final pitches for Melbourne Cup broadcast rights

Nine and Seven will this week make their final pitches for the rights to broadcast the Melbourne Cup carnival for the next six years.

Jockey Mark Zahra leads Gold Trip to victory in the 2022 Melbourne Cup. Picture: David Caird

Nine and Seven will this week make their final pitches for the broadcast rights to the Melbourne Cup carnival, with Nine understood to have its nose in front in the head-to-head battle between the networks.

As revealed by The Australian last month, Tabcorp has moved to take control of all the broadcast rights for the Cup from next year onwards in a unique deal for which it is set to pay about $25m annually – including free-to-air, pay-television, digital and international distribution rights.

Tabcorp will then sub-license the free-to-air rights for the Cup (in what will be a six-year deal) as per the requirements of the federal government’s anti-siphoning list.

Ten pulled out of the bidding war last week, with sources telling The Australian the network — which has broadcast the carnival since 2019 — was uncomfortable with the number of stipulations placed on the deal by the wagering company, such as certain restrictions on advertising partners.

But there could also be complications with Seven’s bid.

The Australian understands that there is concern at the VRC that Seven has gone all-in with Racing NSW in recent years, as its charismatic boss Peter V’landys puts on a growing array of races with huge prizemoney in direct competition with premium Victorian Spring Racing Carnival events, most notably the Melbourne Cup carnival.

Already, Racing NSW has invaded the VRC’s two biggest days of the Spring Racing Carnival — Derby Day and Melbourne Cup day — with multimillion-dollar races on each day, both of which are already telecast by Seven.

This year’s instalment of the 1500m Golden Eagle Stakes at Rosehill Racecourse on Derby Day (November 4) – which Seven is planning to telecast — will have a massive $10m in prizemoney.

It will provide a big distraction to the less lucrative but sought-after Group One races at Flemington on the same day. Mr V’landys has also invaded the day of the VRC’s jewel in the crown, the Melbourne Cup on November 7.

The Big Dance had its first instalment on Cup Day last year at Randwick, and this year the prizemoney will be increased by 50 per cent to $3m, with the race to be run 30 minutes after the Melbourne Cup.

Despite Mr V’landys’ claim The Big Dance won’t take the gloss off the Cup, the VRC has accused Racing NSW of ambush marketing.

Again, Seven is planning to telecast The Big Dance in 2023.

But VRC sources say that telecasting it on the same day’s coverage as Australia’s most famous horse race could be in conflict with the proposed Tabcorp contract that requires Melbourne Cup day to be broadcast throughout the first Tuesday in November, largely without other distractions.

Meanwhile, Racing NSW announced another multimillion-dollar race over the weekend which will clash with the Victorian Spring Racing Carnival and be broadcast on Seven.

The newly named $5m King Charles III stakes, formerly the George Main Stakes, will be moved this year to the same day as Australia’s richest horse race, the $20m Everest, yet again in competition with the Victorian Spring Racing Carnival on Caulfield Guineas day.

One insider says the competition for the Melbourne Cup carnival media rights is a battle of contrasting strengths.

“If it goes to Seven, it goes to the network that broadcasts racing 51 weeks of the year and is probably geared more to the racing purist,” the source said.

“If it goes to Nine, the coverage is likely to be directed more as a one-off event for people who don’t normally watch the races, probably with more focus on fashion and entertainment.”

Ten will broadcast the Melbourne Cup carnival this spring, after which its five-year, $100m deal expires.