Ten secures Melbourne Cup broadcast rights in $100m VRC deal

Massive $100 million deal wins Ten the right to broadcast the Melbourne Cup for the first time since 2001.

Ten will be back at Flemington for the 2019 Melbourne Cup.

Network Ten chief executive Paul Anderson has denied paying over the odds for the Melbourne Cup, despite agreeing to fork out almost 10 times more than incumbent rights holder Seven West Media.

Ten officially snatched the rights from Seven on Monday, when the Victorian Racing Club revealed it has struck a five-year $100 million deal with the foreign-owned free-to-air broadcaster.

The announcement came after news of the new agreement was first broken by The Australian last Friday.

Ten’s deal will begin with the four-day Melbourne Cup Carnival in 2019, which consists of the Victoria Derby Day, Melbourne Cup Day, Oaks Day, and Stakes Day.

Seven’s current contract is understood to be worth about $2 million annually and will expire with the upcoming Carnival this November.

But Mr Anderson told The Australian he believed the $20 million per year deal – the same Ten has been paying for the Big Bash League between 2012-2017 before it lost cricket rights to Foxtel and Seven earlier this year – still made sense financially.

“Yes we think we can make it work and it brings us into a new space with advertisers, particularly the wagering providers for example.”

Value of major Australian sports rights

“And I think there’s a whole spread of brands that want to be associated throughout the day for something like this, like the Champagne companies and others. It’s a bold move for the VRC to take their rights beyond what they have been doing.”

The deal gives Ten free-to-air, internet, social media, mobile, over-the-top (OTT) and Hybrid Broadcast Broadband (Hbb) TV rights, but still allows the VRC to sell digital rights to betting companies.

And in a twist, Seven will still maintain a presence at the Carnival with its joint venture Racing.com striking a deal with Ten to maintain live coverage of all races across the Melbourne Cup Carnival on its channels and app.

It is understood Racing.com, jointly owned by Seven and governing body Racing Victoria, will pay Ten at least $1-2 million annually for the rights in a deal that was struck after a frantic day of negotiations including other racing clubs in Melbourne on Monday.

Seven will also broadcast other racing from Flemington and across Victoria until at least the end of June 2020 on Racing.com and most Saturdays on its primary and secondary channels, as well as a selection of NSW and Queensland race meets.

Seven has broadcast the Melbourne Cup Carnival since 2002, and before that Ten held the television rights for the 24 years between 1978 and 2001.

Mr Anderson said the broadcaster was “extremely excited” to have the Melbourne Cup Carnival again after striking the biggest deal in the history of the VRC.

“Our network has a rich history with this world-class event having been the broadcaster of the race that stops a nation for over two decades.

“The Melbourne Cup Carnival is one of the most prestigious horseracing events in the world, and Cup Day is iconic, not just in the sporting calendar, but for all Australians.”

VRC Chairman Amanda Elliott described the deal as “transformational” and that Ten would showcase the Cup Carnival outside the actual racing.

“Through this partnership with Ten, the VRC’s diverse range of content, including world-class racing, the vibrancy of the Birdcage, Myer Fashions on the Field, the colour and entertainment in The Park and all facets of our new world-class Club Stand will be leveraged via a whole of network approach throughout the year”.

Mr Anderson said Ten now had three of the biggest day in Australian sport with the Melbourne Cup, the Australian Grand Prix in March and the iconic Bathurst 1000 Supercars race in October, and that Ten would actively promote the Melbourne Cup across all of its products.

“That is a trend with sports rights these days in that they want the coverage to go beyond just the sport and also throughout the year, and that is what we will do with this.”