THE new television channel showing live Irish racing from January 1st is offering Sky and internet viewers a free month’s trial.

Racing TV launches next Tuesday when racing from Fairyhouse and Tramore will be shown alongside action from Cheltenham, Catterick, Musselburgh and Exeter in a packed schedule.

It marks the start of a new era with Irish racing going behind a paywall after more than 10 years on At The Races [ATR]. The channel switch came about when media rights holder SIS decided to move its direct-to-home feed to Racing UK, which has now been rebranded.

A subscription to the new channel will cost approximately €30 per month but Irish viewers can avail of a free one-month trial at any time in January.

Seb Vance of Racing TV said: “We will make the channel free-to-view for Irish residents for three hours every day in January on Sky 426 and at racingtv.com. In addition, Sky and broadband viewers can start a free one-month trial at any point in January.”

Gary O’Brien, recruited from At The Races, will be at Tramore on New Year’s Day where he will present with Kate Harrington. Kevin O’Ryan and Donn McClean will be at Fairyhouse.

JAM-PACKED

Vance commented: “New Year’s Day is going to be a challenge as it’s a jam-packed day with six fixtures scheduled, but we will endeavour to show every race live, failing that the closing stages, and failing that the replay.

“We will also employ a second gallery to provide a fully-produced dedicated second channel for the two Irish fixtures, available via Racing TV Extra.

“Viewers will, in fact, be able to watch eight different channels via Extra on New Year’s Day: the linear channel, featuring all six fixtures, the Irish channel dedicated to Tramore and Fairyhouse, and a devoted racecourse feed for each of the six fixtures.”

Racing TV will cover a total of 61 tracks between Ireland and Britain. The pictures will be high definition and, for those watching online, each ‘racecourse stream’ will show horses in the parade ring and going to post.

The channel is available in Ireland via Sky 426, Virgin 411, Vodafone 421, and Apple TV. It will also launch on Eir Vision in January, while apps for Amazon Fire TV and selected smart TVs are due to launch shortly.

Richard FitzGerald, CEO of Racecourse Media Group, parent company of Racing TV, said: “We are very excited to welcome Irish racing to the channel on New Year’s Day, when we will be showcasing the full storylines from both sides of the Irish Sea via one definitive racing broadcaster.”

SKY SPORTS

Tuesday also sees the launch of Sky Sports Racing, the new name for At The Races. Although the channel has lost Irish racing, it does have live pictures from 24 British tracks including Ascot.

This will we backed up by extensive international racing from France, the UAE, Hong Kong, USA and Australia. There will also be Sky-style panel discussion programmes after racing each day and on Monday and Friday nights.