association with France Galop and LeTROT
association with France Galop and LeTROT
Boulogne-Billancourt, April 4, 2016
TF1 group to be the new broadcaster of French horse-racing
LCI to show the Quinté+ race every day from April 5
The Group is today announcing that it is to broadcast horse-racing under a three-year deal in association with France Galop and LeTROT. Racing enthusiasts will now be able to access exclusive free-to-air sports news content on LCI (freeview DTT channel 26), on the internet, and on TF1.
Starting on April 5, the date when it switches to DTT freeview, LCI will carry live coverage of:
- the day’s top Quinté+ race, in an eight-minute daily show called Au cœur des courses;
- all 14 race meetings in the Epiqe Series(*), a new circuit combining France’s best trotting and gallop races, each of which will feature in a 45-minute programme;
- two flagship events from the racing calendar: the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris (gallop, May 22)and the Grand Prix du Président de la République (trotting, June 26).
The TF1 core channel will show live the two grand finals in the Epiqe Series: the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (October 2, 2016) and the Opodo Prix d’Amérique (January 29, 2017), and will also carry a short weekly racing show.
Gilles Pélisson, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of the TF1 group, says: “As the LCI channel becomes accessible to all, we are committed to offering viewers popular daily shows, and this new deal reflects that commitment. At a time when the Epiqe series is opening up new horizons for horse-racing in France, the coverage planned by LCI and the broadcasting on TF1 of two stand-out events in the French racing calendar, reaffirm TF1’s ambition to offer our viewers popular and exciting programming.”
According to Dominique de Bellaigue, Chairman of leTROT, “This partnership with the TF1 group is excellent news. By providing coverage of our races on a freeview DTT channel and special programmes for flagship races, plus a weekly presence on TF1 and digital exposure, this deal will enable us to put our spectacular and popular events before a wider public in highly attractive formats.”
Edouard de Rothschild, Chairman of France Galop, says: “This three-year partnership with TF1 is perfectly in line with our objective of reviving the attractiveness of horse-racing by bringing these events into the mainstream. These new arrangements will showcase horse-racing and bring it to a much wider audience.”
(*) Epiqe is the new umbrella brand for French horse racing.