Racecourse Media Group has appointed Andrew Demaria as its first-ever Chief Content Officer, marking a significant strategic shift for the global media rights management organisation.
Demaria will officially join RMG tomorrow, taking on a broad remit that spans content strategy, audience development, digital growth, data and insights, marketing integration and content partnerships.
Based in London, he will focus on driving subscriber growth, audience engagement and commercial performance across the organisation’s media operations.
Horse racing is actively seeking to replicate the kind of mainstream momentum seen recently in sports such as Formula One, golf and darts.
Demaria arrives with over 16 years of experience at major media organisations, including leadership positions at global media conglomerate CNN.
Most recently, he led NBCUniversal’s in-house creative and content studio, giving him direct expertise in large-scale content production and platform strategy.
“Racing possesses all the ingredients of a great media property: elite sporting competition, compelling personalities, passionate fans and a year-round calendar of major events,” Demaria said.
“The opportunity is to tell those stories in more ways, across more platforms and to more audiences than ever before,” he continued.
“Racing TV and RMG already occupy a key position at the heart of the sport, and I look forward to working with racecourses, broadcasters, partners and colleagues to build a truly integrated content operation that drives audience growth, subscriber engagement and long-term value for racing.”
The appointment comes as horse racing intensifies efforts to become more digitalised and broaden its appeal to younger audiences who consume sport differently than previous generations.
The wider racing industry, particularly in the UK where RMG is headquartered, has faced significant pressure from regulatory burdens and ongoing commercial challenges in recent years.
With a figure of Demaria’s calibre now steering content operations, RMG appears well-positioned to meaningfully expand horse racing’s visibility at a critical moment for the sport.
