Horse & Country TV
Horse & Country (H&C) is an equestrian sports digital media company.
Country | United Kingdom |
---|---|
Broadcast area | United Kingdom Republic of Ireland The Netherlands Sweden Australia Germany USA Canada Philippines |
Programming | |
Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed) |
Ownership | |
Owner | H&C TV Ltd. |
History | |
Launched | 7 July 2007 |
Links | |
Website | Website |
Availability | |
Cable | |
Ziggo Netherlands | Channel 136 (HD) |
Caiway Netherlands | Channel 136 |
DELTA Netherlands | Channel 121 |
Kabel Noord Netherlands | Channel 259 |
Kabeltex Netherlands | Channel 204 |
Stichting CAI Harderwijk Netherlands | Channel 143 |
Virgin Media UK | Channel 293 |
Sky Cable Philippines | TBA |
Cablelink Philippines | TBA |
Satellite | |
Canal Digital Sverige | Channel 29 |
Thor 5 (0.8°W) | 11247 V 24500 7/8 |
Cignal Philippines | TBA |
G Sat Philippines | TBA |
IPTV | |
T-Mobile Netherlands | Channel 292 |
Streaming media | |
Ziggo GO Netherlands | ZiggoGO.tv (Europe only) |
Distribution
H&C was on satellite television on Sky channel 184 in the United Kingdom (UK) and is also available on Amazon Prime Video in UK & Germany and on Roku, as well as via web and mobile apps. It launched on Virgin Media channel 298 on 21 July 2018. H&C launched to cable TV viewers in the Netherlands in June 2012. In June 2013 H&C launched in Sweden. In February 2015, H&C launched in Australia on Fetch TV.[1] H&C launched in the US and Canada in May 2018 on Roku.[2] H&C formed a partnership with Digital Cornucopia to enter Spain, Portugal, and Latin America in 2018.[3]
Removal from Sky
In December 2019, H&C announced they would be closing on Sky channel 184. The move means that as of 31 January 2020, H&C will be available to view through H&C's online services, apps and other 3rd party distributors.[4]
Partnering with EQ Sports Net
In January 2020, H&C announced its acquisition of the dominant US equestrian streaming provider, EQ Sports Net (EQSN). In addition to live sports programming, EQSN subscribers will now also have access to H&C TV's library. H&C TV covers the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping, the Longines Lumühlen Horse Trials, and the London International Horse Show from Olympia.[5]
Programming & production
In 2012, H&C commissioned the series Getting to Greenwich, an 8-part series profiling rider contenders for London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. H&C also commissioned Dean Dibsdall: Model Farrier, a single film about the winner of E4's Playing It Straight 2012. H&C produced in-house "Carl and Charlotte: Dressage Superstars" a 2-part series about top British Dressage riders, Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin. In 2016, H&C acquired the syndicated series Walks Around Britain, featuring seasons one & two. Season three was released on the platform just one year later, back in May 2017.[6]
2010 restructuring
In October 2010, Horse & Country TV was placed into administration by Chairman Heather Killen, who called in a £400,000 preferential loan on her own company, the day before a dismissal claim by former Managing Director Nick Ludlow was due to be heard in court. Mr. Ludlow had been fired by Ms. Killen just seven days after she finalized a successful takeover deal for the television channel, and had claimed that his 47% stake was watered down to just 16% in a share issue in November 2009. The move forced Mr. Ludlow to drop his legal action and caused investors in the channel to write off £200,000 following the collapse. Within months Ms. Killen had relaunched the company as H&C TV. The new firm secured a global rights deal to highlights from the Badminton trials, ending a 50-year exclusive arrangement with the BBC to cover the event.[7][8][9]
Citations
- Knox, David. "Horse & Country TV to Launch in Australia". Horse Yard. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
- Clarke, Stewart (2018-04-26). "Equestrian Channel H&C Gallops into the U.S. (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
- "H&C and Digital Cornucopia announce partnership". Broadband TV News. 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
- Thomson, Stuart (2020-01-20). "Horse & Country acquires US streamer, will come of Sky at end of month". Digital TV Europe. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- "Horse & Country and EQ Sports Net Join Forces to Raise the Bar on Equestrian Sports Streaming". The Plaid Horse. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- "Walks Around Britain on Television". Walks Around Britain. 22 January 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- "Equestrian sports hit by collapse of Horse & Country TV". The Telegraph. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- "City Spy: Heather's woes in Horse & Country". Evening Standard. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
- "The millionairess, the horse trials and the almighty legal row". The Daily Telegraph. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2018.