Jockey Club of Turkey signs up The Switch to distribute UK races to betting shops

Live from Newmarket: Racing coverage will be distributed by The Switch on behalf of The Jockey Club of Turkey.

The Jockey Club of Turkey (TJK) is to use The Switch to deliver live horse racing streams from the UK to betting shops in Turkey.

Using The Switch’s video distribution network, TJK will provide uninterrupted live feeds from various venues including Newmarket and Ascot.

Nicholas Castaneda, senior vice president of sales at The Switch, spoke to SVG Europe about its relationship with TJK: “TJK is a new customer of ours. They reached out to us not too long ago as they were looking for a connection to the BT Tower in London, to allow them to stream live races from the UK horse racing season to their customers in Turkey.

“We were able to provide them with an IP connection from our London NOC, giving them access to feeds from the UK flat racing season from venues such as Ascot and Newmarket.”

He added that TJK chose The Switch for its end to end service abilities: “TJK chose The Switch as it is far easier to deal with one company that can manage the live feeds from multiple events and venues, rather than dealing with all countries or companies separately.”

“Horse racing continues to be a major audience and revenue driver across the world and our deep understanding of handling time-sensitive live content means we can ensure high-quality feeds are delivered without a hitch.”

TJK receives feeds, picked up from London’s BT Tower via The Switch Access service, which are then live-streamed over the club’s dedicated online channel to its 2,800 betting shops around the country.

The agreement with The Switch allows TJK customers to watch and place bets on live UK race broadcasts across the flat racing season, including the 1000 Guineas and 2000 Guineas.

Castaneda went on: “The agreement with TJK demonstrates how The Switch can leverage our extensive global reach to pick up live streams and seamlessly deliver them to any location. Horse racing continues to be a major audience and revenue driver across the world and our deep understanding of handling time-sensitive live content means we can ensure high-quality feeds are delivered without a hitch.”

Murat Kuyumcu, technical director at TJK, added: “Our customers want to feel like they are at the racecourse, experiencing the action as it unfolds, and not missing a single moment. Working with The Switch means we only have to deal with one service provider to meet our needs, instead of coordinating multiple services.

“We also benefit from their unmatched experience in supporting live content and their robust network performance for smooth delivery of live feeds through our channel.”

The Switch Access service provides transmit and receive access to The Switch network from anywhere. It integrates with The Switch’s extensive connections to more than 800 of the world’s premier content producers and distributors, nearly 180 connected professional sports venues, plus studios, production facilities and satellite uplinks/downlinks around the world.

All of these connected services can be managed from the company’s NOCs in New York, Los Angeles and London.

“The agreement with TJK demonstrates how The Switch can leverage our extensive global reach to pick up live streams and seamlessly deliver them to any location,” said Nicholas Castaneda, senior vice president of sales, The Switch.

“Horse Racing continues to be a major audience and revenue driver across the world and our deep understanding of handling time-sensitive live content means we can ensure high-quality feeds are delivered without a hitch.”