Victorian racing will be seen through several digital only options on Tuesday with confirmation that there will be a blackout of Victorian coverage on Tabcorp’s Sky service, while the racing industry works to find an alternative broadcast solution.

Tabcorp confirmed last Tuesday that it would no longer show Victorian racing on Sky Racing from June 16 after it was informed that Racing Victoria had advised that its preference was for a free-to-air broadcast deal with Seven West Media over an exclusive deal with Sky.

RV, Country Racing Victoria, the Melbourne Racing Club and the Moonee Valley Racing Club have agreed on the Seven deal, but the Victoria Racing Club is yet to confirm its intentions.

It was hoped Seven could offer its digital Channel 78 to broadcast Racing.com’s Racing Live service from Tuesday’s Geelong meeting as an interim measure, however, without agreements from all stakeholders, a deal could not be agreed.

That means that fans will need to access Victorian racing through desktop, mobile or tablet only for at least one day.

As usual, Racing.com through Racing Live will offer a full coverage of the Geelong meeting through desktop, mobile and tablet as well as through the Racing.com IOS app.

Sportsbet and Crownbet will also offer live streaming of all races through their digital products.

Tabcorp will not show any Victorian racing on any of its Sky options in a blackout which extends to pubs and clubs. It is understood TAB agents will make vision available as part of the joint venture agreement with Racing Victoria.

Racing Victoria released a statement late on Monday, expressing its disappointment at the situation.

“Tabcorp Holdings has advised that no Victorian thoroughbred meeting will be broadcast on its Sky Racing channels into homes, pubs and clubs after it refused to roll over an existing interim agreement regardless of whether Seven West Media is broadcasting the meeting.

“RV said it was disappointed with the decision by Tabcorp Holdings to go ahead with a blackout of all Victorian thoroughbred racing on its Sky Racing channels from tomorrow. RV has offered to continue to supply Victorian thoroughbred racing to Sky Racing for a fair and reasonable commercial fee to ensure that punters, fans and participants are not disadvantaged.”

“RV will continue to seek talks with Tabcorp Holdings on achieving its preferred media distribution model which involves both Seven West Media and Sky Racing with the goal of building a strong, sustainable future where current and future generations of fans and punters can access vision of Victorian thoroughbred racing whenever, wherever and however they choose.”

The Melbourne Racing Club released a statement on Tuesday night confirming they had signed on with the SWM deal.

 “The Melbourne Racing Club has always maintained that our racing should be available for viewing by as many customers and potential customers as possible, across all platforms, both domestically and internationally,” chairman Mike Symons said.

“We strongly believe the showcasing of our racing and dedicated coverage will stimulate further growth of the Victoria Thoroughbred Racing Industry, ultimately benefiting all participants.”

Questions:

Where can I watch Victorian racing from Tuesday?

Racing.com’s Racing Live service will continue to provide coverage of Victorian racing through desktop, mobile and tablet as well as through the Racing.com IOS app. Race coverage is also available through Sportsbet and Crownbet

When will Channel 78 be up and running?

The Victorian Racing industry and Seven West Media are working on a solution to get Victorian racing broadcast through digital free-to-air TV as soon as possible.

Will be my local TAB show the Victorian races?

Victorian racing will not be seen in pubs and clubs, however, the state’s TAB agencies will continue to show live Victorian racing.