Racecourse Media Group (RMG), the parent company of Racing TV, has agreed media rights licence extensions with 33 British racecourses, 24 hours after it was revealed that Newbury was set to jump ship to Sky Sports Racing.

The five-year deal will run until the end of 2028 and includes the rights for streaming, direct to home and terrestrial television, along with international betting and non-betting rights for the courses, which include those under the Jockey Club banner and independents such as Goodwood and York,

The agreement also covers betting shop rights, with Chester and Bangor added to that roster despite them having joined Sky Sports Racing in a ten-year deal in 2019.

The deal means that although the operation of Musselburgh was taken over by the Chester Race Company last year, the Scottish track will stay on Racing TV and not join its stablemates on Sky.

However, it is still not clear where Ascot's betting shop rights will reside after the course's current deal with RMG expires in April 2023.

Musselburgh: meetings at the Scottish track will continue to be broadcast on Racing TV
Musselburgh: meetings at the Scottish track will continue to be broadcast on Racing TV
John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)
RMG is owned by its racecourse shareholders and chairman Roger Lewis thanked them for their "trust and confidence".

He added: "This is a pivotal moment for British racing. The RMG racecourses, with a unity of purpose, have created business clarity and confidence for years to come. The certainty which this landmark, long-term agreement provides is very special for everyone involved in British racing."

The news is a boost to RMG who this week discovered that Newbury, which had been a part of Racing UK and then Racing TV since 2004, was set to switch allegiance to Sky Sports Racing, along with betting shop service provider The Racing Partnership, in a five-year media rights deal. Newbury will feature on Sky Sports Racing from January 2024.

RMG chief executive Martin Stevenson said: "It is a matter of great pride that racecourses have placed their rights in RMG’s hands again. RMG has a superb team, who, from the production to the commercial offices, are committed to ensuring first-class output and long-term sustainable growth for our racecourses."

He added: "We look forward to continuing to work with Newbury on the remaining period of their term until 2024 and we wish them well thereafter."

RMG, which added all 26 Irish racecourses to its coverage in 2019 in a deal running to 2023, last month announced it had extended its betting shop picture and data deal with SIS for a further three years until the end of March 2026.