Horse & Country is the largest equestrian sports digital media company - available globally via their streaming service. It delivers a line up of equestrian sports events, master classes and documentaries serving equestrian fans.
Distribution
H&C was on satellite television on Sky channel 184 in the 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 and is widely available on cable and broadband platforms, as well as over the top. In June 2013 H&C launched in Sweden, and is now available on multiple pay-TV platforms including Com Hem, Boxer and Canal Digital, as well as OTT. In February 2015, H&C launched in Australia on Fetch TV. H&C launched in the US and Canada in May 2018 on Roku and continues to build out its distribution. H&C formed a partnership with Digital Cornucopia to enter Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. Digital Cornucopia is a producer and distributor of original channels and has already launched a bouquet of seven TV channels, both lineal and OTT services.
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 and has since shown both seasons one & two - with season three starting in May 2017.
Awards and nominations
H&C TV has been nominated for seven years running for Best Specialist Channel in the Broadcast Digital Awards from 2010 to 2016. H&C won the award in 2011 against other nominees: the Food Network UK and the Horror Channel. H&C's website was also shortlisted in 2012 for the Best Website category with other nominees being Channel 4, E4 and CBeebies' sites. In 2013 to 2016, H&C TV was shortlisted for Best Factual Channel with other nominees being BBC Four, Discovery Channel and History.
2010 Controversy
In October 2010, Horse & Country TV was controversially placed into administration by Chairman Heather Killen, who called in a £400,000 preferential loan on her own company, the day before an unfair 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 finalised a successful takeover deal for the television channel and had claimed that his 47pc stake was watered down to just 16pc in a share issue in November 2009. The move forced Mr. Ludlow to drop his legal action and cost a number of governing bodies who had invested 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.
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.
In January 2020, H&C announced its acquisition of the dominant US equestrian streaming provider, EQ Sports Net. In addition to live sports programming, EQSN subscribers will now also have access to H&C TV's extensive library of more than 1,200 hours of quality equestrian content, and live streams from around the world. H&C TV currently brings viewers live coverage of events including the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping, the Longines Lumühlen Horse Trials, and the London International Horse Show from Olympia.
H&C announces new Board member
On February 19, 2020, H&C announced that Claude Ruibal had joined its Board of Directors. Ruibal has held a variety of roles at organisations including GoPro, the Coca-Cola Company, and Google, where he led a global team responsible for forging sports partnerships and building out sports content on YouTube. Prior to that, Ruibal was co-founder and CEO of Universal Sports Network, later acquired by NBC Universal and renamed the Olympic Channel. H&C CEO, Heather Killen, said: “We are delighted that Claude has agreed to join the H&C board at this pivotal time in the company’s development. His experience in both consumer facing sports media, and in working with rights holders to maximise their reach, return and reputation, will be of tremendous value to the business.”
