Stakes are high in media race for viewers

It's almost over. After 31 months of negotiations, altercations and machinations, racing has finally sold its media rights - conditionally, mind. Rather than the single, cohesive package everyone originally argued would give the sport its greatest financial leverage, this is a deal in two parts. Broadly, 49 racecourses - including the biggest fish such as Cheltenham, Ascot and Aintree - have sided with the Go Racing consortium of Channel 4, BSkyB and Arena, whose remuneration package favoured elite tracks with terrestrial coverage.

The remaining 10 - smaller tracks who felt undervalued by Go Racing - have signed to GG-Media in a deal that offers them far greater riches and an up front £100,000 payment already in the bank, but hands their betting-shop pictures to Satellite Information Services. As bookmakers own a significant portion of that company, the worry is this will damage racing's position in the future funding of the sport.

But the Go Racing deal isn't all roses either. As time was running out ahead of last Friday's initial deadline, it became evident there were some major problems. Aside from the growing discontent of the smaller courses - who felt they were being asked to sacrifice their best interests for a nebulous greater good - there was an absence of any specific terrestrial TV commitment from Channel 4.

Final negotiations may have suffered a little from a belated urge just to get the job done, somehow and fast. From the tracks' point of view, GG-Media was too late an entrant into the forum - tabling its offer for the first time only last month - to make tactical use of it. Some believe racing could have extracted a firmer terrestrial commitment given greater nerve on the part of its chief negotiators.

But Channel 4 consistently argued they never give exact coverage commitments to any sport. Racing should be satisfied with their 'intention' to cover no less than the current quota. They point to plans for a new lunchtime programme, handing the sport enhanced coverage. But in recent weeks, a contract clause was included allowing tracks to sell their terrestrial rights elsewhere if the total commitment should fall down in any way.

Such a threshhold is measured on attracting sufficient viewing figures, rather than tying coverage specifically to analogue over digital TV. The future is digital alone, for all homes - terrestrial commitments would be archaic in that context, goes the argument.

Yet the BBC - who have bought into the Go Racing deal for the prize of the Derby - have managed it. They have guaranteed their portfolio of courses to be at least up to the same coverage of last year for the next 10 years, on the assumption - given the government's unclear attitude towards the future of analogue TV - that BBC1 and 2 do not change.

Of course, it's hardly in Channel 4's interest to nudge racing on to a digital platform - not just yet. But that's surely what they have long borne in mind when taking one or two races from a smaller track alongside their main meeting each Saturday - it keeps them sweet for their racing channel ambitions. They may have in mind the long-term objective of becoming a media business rather than the medium-term ambitions of a broadcaster.