Chair of Racecourse Media Group (RMG) Roger Lewis has secured an agreement to continue in his current role, assisting the group’s transition to a new Chair.
Lewis has helped RMG increase its licence fees and dividend payments to its racecourses from £45m to over £110m, Having been on the Board for more than 10 years.
“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,” noted Martin Stevenson, CEO of RMG.
“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.”
Lewis joined the RMG Board in 2012 and was appointed Non-Executive Independent Chairman in January 2019. He was due to step down in 2022 but has been asked by the Board to extend his tenure, with a new Chair to be appointed in next year.
On his extended position, the Chairman stated: “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.”
Under Lewis’s leadership, the group paid £110m to its racecourse shareholders in 2021. Earned through racecourses’ media and data rights, these payments exceeded pre-Covid levels.
In the same year, RMG agreed to British racecourse licence extensions for audio-visual and data rights for a new five-year term until December 2028.
Previously, Lewis has held senior positions at the BBC, ITV, Classic FM, EMI and Decca, and was GCEO of the Welsh Rugby Union and the Millennium Stadium for nine years.
