New rights deal for leading U.S. and Australian racing provider XB Net lays an important foothold in India’s unfolding racing industry landscape
XB Net, the leading provider of premium content for North American and Australian horse racing, has further broadened its international footprint with the announcement of its latest digital distribution rights deal with established Indian platform, NorthAlley.
This new agreement covers XB Net’s delivery of live pictures and local pool-wagering services from an unrivalled network of tracks in Australia and North America, equipping NorthAlley with a highly-flexible programming schedule, supported by a steady stream of rapid-cycling wagering opportunities that are proven to increase digital dwell-time for new and existing customers.
NorthAlley is the Totalizator technology provider for all race clubs in India. This deal began with Hyderabad Race Club and has been extended iteratively to all other clubs for this progressive partnership.
XB Net’s acclaimed end-to-end solution opens the door to many of the planet’s most prestigious horse races. Currently live with the Melbourne Racing Club’s (MRC) extensive group of well-known Australian racecourses, NorthAlley can draw from a product suite of data and streaming services available for over 700 Australian meetings a year, featuring top venues like Caulfield, Moonee Valley and Flemington – including the race that stops a nation, the Melbourne Cup.
However, new U.S. racing rights will soon allow access to more global highlights, including the recent Pegasus World Cup, two legs of this summer’s compelling Triple Crown (featuring the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes) and the season’s flagship finale at the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland (4-5 November).
This daily timetable of engaging action, whose chronology naturally bookends India’s domestic racing scene (with the five-hour differential to Western Australia particularly complementary for Indian mornings), supplies NorthAlley with a reliable source of fast-settling racing content at both primetime and off-peak viewing slots.
XB Net stands alone as the proven pacesetter for both North American and Australian horse racing content, providing rights, data, live broadcast and video streaming on behalf of its growing global portfolio of partners. Corralling low-latency feeds from more than 3,000 meetings (showcasing over 30,000 races per year) its international racing is helping worldwide operators to engage untapped audiences, deliver 24/7 horse racing, and also mitigate the risk of future disruptions to the global sporting calendar.
Simon Fraser, Senior Vice President of International at XB Net, said: “It’s a thrill to widen our geographic influence, especially in India’s sports and horse racing territories, whose underserved audiences will soon prove a boon for racing, especially as wider regulation arrives in this sleeping giant of a region.
“NorthAlley have already proven themselves most adept at securing some cornerstone partnerships at the elite Hyderabad and Madras Racing Clubs, while the Royal Western India Turf Club in Mumbai is next on our agenda. It’s an exciting time to be continuing to grow our global audience and products, with our core North American racing service now ably abetted by some cracking racing from Australia.”
Suresh Paladugu, CEO at NorthAlley, added: “XB Net’s one-stop Australian and North American racing services have really turned our customers on to the merits of international racing, both during and after the pandemic, generating and retaining new revenue streams in the process. It’s a complementary product of rapidly increasing popularity with our key clients at Hyderabad and Madras Race Clubs, particularly before our domestic action winds up.
“Australian racing, above all, seems to fit seamlessly into our overall offering, with its time zone naturally preceding India’s domestic action and other sporting programmes. Now we’re adding U.S. racing rights too for our players, we can’t wait to see how these products perform over a packed summer of racing highlights, including the Triple Crown events of the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes.
“XB Net share NorthAlley’s vision and focus on enabling digital enterprise by leveraging technology as a valuable asset, helping streamline and optimise our partners’ operations so that we can increase revenues, improve the customer experience and return value to the underlying sport and its stakeholders.”
