On Monday The Guardian reported that William Hill has asked the chairman of the British Broadcasting Channel’s trust stop the proposed racing coverage cuts coming in 2010.
The paper said that in a letter to letter to Sir Michael Lyons, Ralph J. Topping, chief executive of William Hill, addressed the bookmaker’s commercial interests in the plans among other issues.
“Terrestrial TV coverage increases the public's interest in racing and that has an impact for us as bookmakers,” Mr. Topping wrote. “It is precisely because it is popular with a large number of your viewers who relish the chance of placing a bet and then watching their selections at home that the BBC should reconsider.”
He also noted that the channel’s coverage plays a role in race sponsorships and suggested that without it, those sponsorships could fall by the wayside.