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UK horse racing to switch from Channel 4 to ITV in 2017

By , Football League Editor
UK television coverage of racing is to shift from Channel 4 to ITV from 2017 after a £30m, four-year agreement was reached.

ITV will replace Channel 4 as the UK's main broadcaster of horse racing from next year.

ITV has secured an exclusive contract reportedly worth around £30m over four years to bring the sport back in 2017, 32 years after it moved to Channel 4.

Channel 4's last broadcast will be the Betfred Challow Hurdle meeting at Newbury on December 31. It said that it wished racing "all the best from 2017".

ITV will then take over this time next year, with their first fixture the New Year's Day card at Cheltenham.

According to the Racing Post, at least 34 fixtures will be shown on ITV's main channel, with another 60 due for coverage on ITV4. There will also be a magazine preview show each Saturday morning on ITV4 in the style of C4's The Morning Line.

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Nico de Boinville riding Coneygree celebrate winning The Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup during Gold Cup day at the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham racecourse on March 13, 2015
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