MUMBAI: Channel 4 has become the new home of British horseracing after securing a four year terrestrial rights deal with the Racecourse Media Group (RMG), in association with Jockey Club Racecourses, Ascot Racecourse and other independent racecourses.

As a consequence, BBC, which was the incumbent rights holder, will no longer showcase British racing on its terrestrial platforms.

The four-year partnership will deliver around 90 days a year of terrestrial coverage of horseracing on Channel 4. The new arrangement will see all 35 races in the QIPCO British Champions Series of premier Flat racing broadcast on Channel 4.

Channel 4 will now exclusively broadcast the racing calendar from 2013 - Aintree?s three-day John Smith?s Grand National meeting, the Investec Derby Festival from Epsom Downs, Royal Ascot and the QIPCO British Champions Day from Ascot will come to the Channel.

Channel 4?s chief creative officer Jay Hunt said, "We are delighted Channel 4 is to become the sole destination for British horseracing after securing such iconic events as Royal Ascot, the John Smith?s Grand National and the Investec Derby. These will sit alongside our established coverage of The Cheltenham Festival and major flat meetings such as Glorious Goodwood and the Ebor Festival and means we can extend our distinctive approach to all the crown jewels of the sport."

The broadcaster aims to employ distinctive approach to marketing and promotion to bring the sport to committed racing fans and strengthen its relationship with younger and broader audiences alike and will seek to introduce new innovations and enhancements to the production values of its racing programming over the course of the new rights period.

Negotiations were led by Racecourse Media Group (RMG) alongside The Jockey Club, Ascot Racecourse and British Champions Series Ltd as rightsholders with Martin Baker, Director of Commercial Affairs, at the helm of the Channel 4 team.

MUMBAI: People in the UK are more concerned with the portrayal of age on TV than on other platforms. Age is considered much less of an issue on radio, as participants could not readily tell the age of contributors and would choose a radio station that reflects their needs and interests.

Younger people are most concerned with how they are portrayed on TV, and many feel they are portrayed negatively. This view was also shared by some older people.

The Creative Diversity Network (CDN) has published the findings of its research in portrayal of age in the media, ?Serving All Ages?. The research was commissioned by the BBC as current chair of the CDN.

The CDN is a partnership of media companies made up of ITV, Channel 4, Sky, S4/C, Pact, MTV, Media Trust, Turner and Bafta, which exists to improve diversity across the industry.

The key findings are:

- Older people are less concerned with portrayal on TV, but some expressed a feeling of invisibility. This was particularly the case for middle aged and older women and more so in some genres (news and factual) than others

- Audiences wanted television in particular to reflect reality and wanted to avoid stereotyping and see a focus on accurate portrayal of all ages

- Industry experts focused on the need to find imaginative and creative ways to challenge existing stereotypes without being formulaic and stressed the importance of tracking and reviewing progress

BBC DG and CDN chair Mark Thompson said, ?There are lessons here for the BBC and the rest of Britain?s broadcasters. It is young people who are most concerned with the way they are portrayed and we need to look at this. But we should also note the concern, expressed by older people generally, about the need for greater visibility for older women. While of course there are many older women presenters and actors across our airwaves, this is something that needs to be addressed.?