ITV confirm major change to racing coverage with brand new Drive To Survive-style show
ITV have confirmed they will air a brand new Drive To Survive-style show focused all on British jumps racing.
The show, named ‘Champions’, will be a six-part series given the primetime 9pm slot on ITV1.
GettyThe new ITV show will focus on jumps racing and capture all the chaos and celebration of Cheltenham Festival[/caption]
Focusing on the jumps action from this year’s King George at Kempton on Boxing Day, through Cheltenham Festival and into the Grand National, the new docuseries will follow in the footsteps of the Netflix F1 smash and Amazon’s All Or Nothing.
The show is due to be aired next summer and will focus solely on the jumps.
Those behind the new series believe National Hunt delivers the drama and character to appeal to a mass audience more than the Flat, according to the Racing Post.
Simon Daglish, deputy managing director, commercial for ITV, said: “Racing drives an enormous amount of passion and excitement among ITV viewers, as we know from our unrivalled coverage.
“This new series is a fantastic chance to build on that excitement and bring this adrenaline-filled sport to a new audience.
“We’re delighted to be working with the racing community to showcase racing in a way that has never been seen before.”
The massive commitment to boosting racing’s coverage comes after ITV confirmed they will show more racing on Sundays next year.
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That is to tie in with the revamped fixture list and ‘premierisation’ of key racedays.
It is not yet known exactly who will star in the new series.
Although bosses are keen to focus on those they think will appeal to the public, rather than just going with top jockeys and trainers.
There is likely to be plenty of star power, with the likes of Idris Elba and Luke Evans attending Cheltenham Festival earlier this year.
And in 2022 Rod Stewart’s wife Penny Lancaster was seen lifting Frankie Dettori off his feet as they partied at Prestbury Park.
Peter Crouch, Carol Vorderman and Sir Alex Ferguson are some of the other big names regularly seen in attendance.
The show, produced by South Shore, the production company behind the BAFTA-award winning Freddie Flintoff’s Field Of Dream, is being supported by Flutter and Racecourse Media Group.
Ian Brown, CEO at Flutter UKI, said: “We are delighted to announce the forthcoming horse racing documentary series in conjunction with ITV and RMG.
“This is an idea we’ve promoted for some time and we are hugely excited to be bringing the inner story of horse racing, and all the wonderful people who support it to a new and broader audience through a prime time slot on ITV1.”
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