New racing radio network set to shake-up airwaves
Radio station SENTrack will attempt to challenge the entrenched Australian racing broadcast media landscape dominated by wagering giant Tabcorp and industry-owned assets even if the man behind the new venture does not see it that way.
Melbourne-based media entrepreneur Craig Hutchison, a former sports journalist who has built an Australian content empire, the recently rebranded Sports Entertainment Network, has no doubt there is space in the market for what some pundits would claim to be a cramped space.
“It’s a massive industry, racing, and we were already heavily invested in it and we had many clients in it through our sporting platforms, particularly radio, so it made sense to extend that relationship with the industry into a dedicated 24/7 racing platform as the new sound of racing, pacing and chasing as we call it,” Hutchison told ANZ Bloodstock News in an extended interview yesterday.
“I feel there is a gap in the market. Most audio platforms in Australia in racing are fantastic in their own right with RSN, Sky Sports Radio, RadioTAB in Queensland and TAB Touch Radio in WA, but all of those four are owned by industry (or Tabcorp).
“Their interests are heavily and understandably aligned with their owners whereas we are unencumbered by having to cover 12,000 races a year like they all do because of their obligations.”
SENTrack’s biggest foray into the coveted Sydney market, via the 1539AM radio frequency, will occur on Saturday when it broadcasts the Everest meeting at Randwick after an agreement was yesterday finalised with Racing NSW, allowing the station to air live thoroughbred racing for the first time.
Matt White, the former Channel Ten sports commentator, will host Saturday’s coverage while the deal will also see SENTrack broadcast the Golden Eagle (1500m) meeting at Rosehill on October 31 in conjunction with Derby Day at Flemington.
Hutchison recently landed the radio rights, negotiated with the Victoria Racing Club (VRC), to broadcast the four days of this year’s Melbourne Cup Carnival as he attempts to make an impact on the racing media landscape.
SENTrack, which has the support of Harness Racing Victoria and its greyhound racing counterpart, does not yet have an agreement with Racing Victoria to broadcast thoroughbred racing in the state on an ongoing basis.
“We’d clearly like to do more racing, but interestingly in a recent survey we conducted, we asked our audience if they’d like more audio of live races or whether they enjoy the antics of our identities throughout the races and our audience voted for our identities, so it’s a little bit Gogglebox in its design – you’re listening to people watching the races and the results.” the Pacific Star Network chief executive and managing director said.
“But we do love the (Victorian) industry and we spend a lot of time talking about it. We want to be as supportive as we can to all industries and our head office is here in Melbourne.
“We admire Racing Victoria and we congratulate them on getting the industry through Covid the way that it has and we’d like to play a deeper role in Victorian racing, for sure.”
In March, Racing Victoria chief executive Giles Thompson hinted at the governing body’s willingness to expand its reach via SENTrack to coincide with its heavy investment in RSN9278 and television station and media outlet Racing.com.
Thompson said in an RSN interview: “We as stakeholders within the industry are part of RSN and we understand what RSN does for us and RSN does great things for us.
“But RSN is a largely Victorian-focused radio station. Now it’s going to be syndicated into Tasmania and South Australia.
“If we want to get into New South Wales or Queensland via radio then we need to think about other ways to do that.
“Again, conversations are confidential but if we are exploring media strategies, that’s what it’s about. It’s about finding new audiences, not competing against our own existing assets.”
Dedicated racing coverage is not new to the Sports Entertainment Network, formerly known as Crocmedia which was founded by Hutchison and James Swanwick in 2006, produces television and online video content for Racing Queensland, most recently the Northern Dreams show hosted by Simon O’Donnell which previewed and reviewed cup carnivals in the north of the state such as Townsville and Cairns.
The introduction of SENTrack, which launched in March, is an offshoot of Pacific Star Network’s main radio station SEN, which holds broadcast rights to sports leagues such as the AFL and cricket and has strong ties to Melbourne, as well as an expanded presence in South Australia.
Whether the emergence of the SENTrack platform threatened the market share and revenue streams of Sky Sports Radio in NSW and the racing networks in other states, Hutchison was diplomatic, declaring he respected Tabcorp “enormously”.
“They are the supermarket of the industry and we’re the corner store, so we respect them and we feel we’re doing a great job for all chasing, pacing and racing,” he said.
“We’re just trying to be polite and we think that everyone in the industry will benefit from (SENTrack) including them. I don’t know how they feel about us, but we feel nothing but admiration for them.”
Hutchison also sees the recruitment of long-time Sky Racing presenter Andrew Bensley, who left Tabcorp in April after more than 20 years, as a way of strengthening the station’s reputation with a knowledgeable racing audience.
“I think Andrew Bensley’s arrival on December 1 will make a big difference as it will provide a different lens to the whole platform and we think that’s exciting,” he said.
“We’ve probably missed a little bit of that credibility that he will bring to it. He will give us a bit more contrast between fun, tips, social as he is a respected industry figure (who will broadcast) in the morning, so I am looking forward to that.”
One potential revenue advantage SENTrack has over its well-established rivals is that it can access the advertising dollars spent by corporate bookmakers who are denied airtime on Sky Racing and its associated radio platforms.
“That’s one element of it, for sure, but SENTrack also gives us scale. It was a way to have a connection with Brisbane and Perth,” Hutchison continued.
“We had relationships with those towns in wagering anway, so it’s strategically aligned. I also think there’s a lot of advertisers who like the audience but haven’t known how to access it or how to be part of it.
“These (racing) industries are wonderful because they employ so many Australians. It creates economic turnover. People instantly go to wagering, but there’s areas like breeding, syndications, strappers, trainers and transport.
“It’s important for us to perhaps demystify the industry and what we’ve found is that the industry is so willing to promote itself by making people available and by how often they talk (to the media).”
Hutchison, who maintains a public profile through his involvement with various AFL-related shows, added: “We want to be pro-industry, we want to be pro-participant by celebrating the trainers, jockeys and owners.
“The industry runs an enormous amount of events every day and no one remembers quite how big a job the industry does every day.
“On any one day, around the country, there’s dozens of races, harness races, they’re massive events that drive economic outcomes in those towns every day and yet it’s a bit taken for granted by people, so we actually wanted to take a breath and celebrate what happens every day.
“Hopefully we’ve been able to do a bit of that, but it’s still early days.”
SENTrack can be heard in Melbourne via 1593AM, in Sydney on 1539AM, in Brisbane on 1053AM, on the Gold Coast on 1620AM, in Perth on 657AM, in Wollongong on 575AM, on the NSW Central Coast on 801AM, in Ingham on 96.9FM and Atherton on 99.1FM. Hutchison expects to add more frequencies around Australia with streaming online also available.