Six races will be shown live on free-to-air TV for each of the four days of this year's Cheltenham Festival, it has been revealed.
Usually only five races are shown daily on Virgin Media 1 and ITV, but that will increase to six for next month's meeting after a deal was agreed between rights manager Racecourse Media Group and ITV.
It is understood the one-off permission was given to ITV due to the fact that this year's meeting looks almost certain to be run behind closed doors without spectators.
A spokesperson for Virgin Media revealed to The Irish Mirror that they will also show six races daily.
The Racing Post reports that the opening contest on each day will be brought forward ten minutes to 1.20pm, with the time between races reduced from 40 to 35 minutes.
It means that the last race on each day, which will be shown live only on Racing TV, will commence at 4.50pm instead of 5.30pm.
