Horse & Country (H&C) is an equestrian sports digital media company.

Distribution

H&C was on

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

channel 184 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(UK) and is also available on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

in UK & Germany and on

Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services. The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduce ...

, as well as via web and mobile apps. It launched on

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, Cable television, television and Internet access, internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Engla ...

Channel 298 on 21 July 2018. H&C launched to cable TV viewers in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in June 2012. In June 2013 H&C launched in Sweden. In February 2015, H&C launched in Australia on

Fetch TV Fetch TV is an Australian IPTV provider that delivers a subscription television service over a user's regular internet service. Fetch TV launched in 2010 backed by its Malaysian parent Astro Malaysia Holdings. On 2 August 2022, Telstra acquire ...

. H&C launched in the US and Canada in May 2018 on

. H&C formed a partnership with Digital Cornucopia to enter Spain, Portugal, and Latin America in 2018.

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. It continued to be available on Virgin Media in Ireland and the UK but it was removed on 20 July 2020 along with Vice.

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.

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.

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.

Citations

External links

H&C UK & ROIH&C AustraliaH&C NetherlandsH&C SwedenH&C Germany
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horse and Country TV Television channels in the Netherlands Television channels in the United Kingdom Equestrianism Horses in the United Kingdom Rural society in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 2007