Roger Lewis to stay at RMG reins

Racecouse Media Group will continue with Roger Lewis as chairman until October 2023. 

Lewis, who has also held roles at the BBC (head of Classic FM) and ITV (managing director of ITV Wales), is staying in position to ease the transition to a new chair, having originally been due to step down in 2022. Lewis has been non-executive independent chairman since January 2019, and a member of the board since 2012. A new chair will be appointed in 2023.

RMG is an umbrella organisation for 34 UK racecourses, and runs Racing TV as well as commercialises its racecourse’s media rights in the UK - with the help of agency HBA Media. Racing TV also includes coverage from all 26 Irish racecourses and Chelmsford City.

Lewis said: “RMG is in great shape, and it is an honour to be asked to continue to Chair the company. We have a strong board and an outstanding team of executives, led by CEO, Martin Stevenson, who together have delivered in spectacular fashion for our racecourses and indeed for the sport of racing.

“We are on track to exceed our record results of last year and we pay tribute to everyone in racing, and give thanks to our racecourses, for allowing RMG to manage their media and data rights across the world.”

Nevin Truesdale, CEO of Jockey Club Racecourses, chief shareholder in RMG, said: “I would like to pay tribute to Roger Lewis for a very effective and successful stewardship of RMG, a business which is of fundamental importance to the financial performance of racecourses and therefore to the whole sport of horseracing.

“Under Roger’s leadership, we have faced a number of challenges, in particular during the Covid pandemic, where the robustness of the RMG model was critical to maintaining racecourse financial stability in the absence of other revenue streams for a sustained period. Roger’s influence in establishing long-term deals with key commercial betting and broadcast partners during his tenure has also been hugely positive. On behalf of everyone at the Jockey Club, I would like to thank Roger for all he has done for the business.”

Martin Stevenson, CEO of RMG, added: “We are delighted Roger Lewis has agreed to stay on for almost another year. Roger has been instrumental in the development and success of RMG over the last decade and I very much look forward to continuing to work closely with Roger and the Board as we continue to invest and develop our media assets and new products. Innovations, such as enhancements on the channel – headlined by the virtual ‘green screen’ studio – the Watch & Bet product, ultra-low latency pictures, the investment in on-screen timing data graphics, and capturing the in-play opportunities are all key to the business’s continued success.

“These workstreams, allied to growing our social media audience, securing increased ITV coverage and enhancing international exposure and revenues, will contribute to directing more eyeballs on to our racing and therefore will drive betting turnover, subscriptions, and sponsorship opportunities for the sport. RMG is one the most successful sporting and media rights companies in Britain and Ireland and I look forward to working with Roger in 2023 to take RMG to even greater heights.”