Sky Sports will air all four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival

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The Melbourne Cup has confirmed its broadcast plans for the 2021 event, which will see the return of fans to Flemington Racecourse.

In the UK, Sky Sports will air all four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival, with other notable deals including Fox Sports to show the Melbourne Cup in the USA, and Sport TV in Portugal.

Race organisers Victoria Racing Club and HBA Media are supporting the live broadcasts by producing two preview programmes and a highlights programme. They will also allow broadcasters increased optionality when they promote the Lexus Melbourne Cup to their audiences.

In addition to live broadcasts, Reuters and Sports Confidential will provide news and delayed programming support worldwide.

2021 Lexus Melbourne Cup global distribution

Africa and MENA: Super Sport (Africa) and Dubai Racing Channel (UAE)
North and South America: Fox Sports 1 (America), TSN (Canada), Pan-regional broadcasters ESPN Latin-America (Latam and Caribbean) and SportsMax (Caribbean)
Europe: Sky Sports Racing (UK and Ireland), Match TV (Russia), SILKNET (Georgia), POLSAT (Poland), BEIN (Turkey), NENT (Scandinvia), Setanta (Balkans and Eurasia) and Sport TV (Portugal)
Asia Pacific: Channel 10 (Australia), Astro (Malaysia), Wuhan TV / Shanghai TV / Beijing TV (China) and Fiji TV (Fiji).

Nick Addison, executive general manager of commercial operations at the Victoria Racing Club, said: “The VRC is focused on building a broad audience ecosystem to optimise the global reach of the Melbourne Cup Carnival via multiple distribution channels.

“HBA Media plays a critical role in helping us achieve our goals and we are very fortunate to, through our partnership, receive the benefit of their unparalleled expertise across the global sporting media landscape.”

Henry Birtles, chief executive of HBA Media, added: “We are thrilled to have worked with the VRC on expanding their content slate, which adds significant value to broadcasters. We are delighted to have provided the VRC with strong worldwide coverage and welcome Fox Sports to our broadcaster stable for the Lexus Melbourne Cup.”