Paddy Power will take the reins as title sponsors of all Live Racing fixtures across the ITV main channel and ITV4 from 1 January, while The Opening Show will be sponsored by stablemates Betfair as part of a two-year deal.

The partnership, negotiated by MediaCom, includes broadcast, catch up, digital, social, podcast and licensing rights and will see Flutter brands feature in the ITV Racing App (inc ITV7 competition). Creative execution will be produced by ITV Creative. 

The BAFTA Award winning ITV Racing coverage has also witnessed a significant increase in ratings, with coverage across 2020 22% higher than in 2019. 

Mark Trinder, Director of Commercial Sales and Partnerships at ITV, said: “ITV Racing has become the bedrock of our ITV Sport programming calendar. The weekly output and excellent expert presentation has taken Racing to new levels in terms of profile and audiences. I welcome Flutter Entertainment to the fold as our new broadcast sponsor. It’s great to be working alongside the team there on what I’m sure will be another vintage year at the races.” 

Michelle Spillane, Marketing Director at Paddy Power, said: “ITV Racing has been brilliant for the sport for the last four years and we viewed it as a natural synergy to become headline sponsor for the BAFTA Award winning show. We’re looking forward to working with the immensely-talented ITV team for at least the next two years and it’s great to be an integral part of a presentation that produces brilliant quality sporting coverage for our customers week in week out.” 

Stephen Mault, Marketing Director at Betfair, commented: ‘‘Just like Betfair, The Opening Show is first port of call for all Horse Racing fans on a Saturday morning and for all the big festivals so we are delighted to support a show that is such a significant launching pad for the top quality Racing coverage ITV produces. Oli Bell, with his team, collaborate well, often in difficult conditions and display great agility. They also have tenacious will to be the best. All qualities which Betfair cherish and adhere to for the benefit of our customers. We are really looking forward to working with them.’’