ITV Racing Clinches Second Bafta for Best Sports Broadcast for Cheltenham Festival Coverage

ITV's coverage was selected over BBC’s broadcast of the FIFA Women's World Cup final

On Sunday night, ITV Racing was honored with its second Bafta, this time for its outstanding broadcast of the opening day at last year's Cheltenham Festival, which was recognized as the best sports broadcast of 2023 at the prestigious awards ceremony.

ITV's coverage was selected over BBC’s broadcast of the FIFA Women's World Cup final, where England was defeated by Spain, and the men's singles final at Wimbledon.

The celebrated opening day at the Cheltenham Festival included stellar performances such as Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle and an emotional triumph by Honeysuckle shortly after the death of Jack de Bromhead, son of trainer Henry. ITV's lead host Ed Chamberlin dedicated the award to Jack, stating, "I dedicated the Bafta to Jack de Bromhead as the day was so emotional with one of the most popular horses in Honeysuckle and rider in Rachael Blackmore."

ITV Racing had previously won a Bafta in 2018 for its coverage of the Grand National. That production marked a significant achievement soon after taking over from Channel 4 as the terrestrial television broadcaster for racing.

Chamberlin, accompanied by racing editor Richard Willoughby and senior director Paul McNamara, accepted the award at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Chamberlin reflected on the evening, saying:

"It feels like a great night for racing. This is the ultimate stage, there were some incredible people here and it's great that racing was up there on the stage. This was the only award for sport too."

He continued, expressing his surprise and joy at the win:

"It's a little surreal. We were up against the Women's World Cup, which was probably the ante-post favourite, and when our name was called it was like 'oh my god'. It's our second Bafta and I think we enjoyed this one a little bit more."

Chamberlin also highlighted the collaborative effort behind the scenes:

"I'm thrilled for everyone, we're a very tight unit in front and behind the cameras. I look forward to having a photo with everyone in the team who works so hard and we'll all celebrate together. The whole thing is a massive production."

Last year's Tuesday coverage of the event attracted 1.3 million viewers and featured notable victories, including Marine Nationale in the Supreme and El Fabiolo in the Arkle, while Corach Rambler went on to win the Grand National a month later.

Reflecting on the emotional impact of the coverage, Chamberlin noted:

"Hopefully we took the viewer on a journey that day. I got some credit for the pictures doing the talking but I had some emotional pundits who were incapable of talking. Everyone remembers those pictures, which was helped by the investment in the wire-cam, and the outpouring of love for Henry, Rachael, and Honeysuckle."

The ITV Cheltenham Festival broadcast team also included notable figures such as Oli Bell, Alice Plunkett, Matt Chapman, and experts like Ruby Walsh and Sir AP McCoy, among others.

ITV Sport editor Willoughby shared his pride on X, posting:

"What an honour. Congratulations to everyone who works on ITV Racing - such an incredible, passionate, creative, and caring team. This is dedicated to the grooms, horses, owners, trainers, and also to the memory of a young lad who was looking down on us that day."