Lights, Camera, Aintree: The Grand National’s Broadcasting Journey on Screen

The broadcasting history of the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse is the story of how one of Britain’s great sporting occasions became a national spectacle, evolving with technology, audience expectation, and the rise and fall of broadcast empires.

This article traces the timeline from the race’s earliest radio days, through technical innovations, to today’s richly produced, multi-platform live coverage.

It will also explore why broadcasting rights have changed hands, the financials behind those moves, the legendary faces and voices who defined Grand National coverage, and how the audience experience has shifted over time.

From Radio to Early Television

Long before television joined the British household, the Grand National was already a national obsession.

The first race was run in 1839, but it was not until 1927 that the BBC broadcast the race live on radio, bringing the drama of Aintree to millions for the first time.

The legendary commentator Peter O’Sullevan would later become synonymous with both radio and television coverage, starting his National commentating career on airwaves before transitioning to TV in the 1960s.

In the decades that followed, the Grand National’s popularity flourished, with families gathered around the radio for annual updates.

Yet, as television developed, anticipation grew for the day when images, not just words, would capture the charge over Becher’s Brook or the chaos at The Chair.

Where It All Began

Three National Hunt races were broadcast on television in 1948, and within a short space of time, there was regular coverage from Kempton Park and Ascot.

But, it was not until March 26, 1960, that the Grand National was televised live for the first time, marking a pivotal moment for both sport and broadcasting.

The BBC secured the honour, including the race as a centrepiece of its innovative Saturday sports programme, Grandstand.

Peter O’Sullevan led the commentary team with the original commentators Clive Graham, and Peter Bromley.

The programme was presented by Cliff Michelmore, who stepped in at the last minute for David Coleman, who was suffering from appendicitis.

That year, the outside broadcast operation was the largest the BBC had ever staged for a single sporting event, deploying 16 cameras, including the “Roving Eye”, a camera van that tracked runners across the sprawling course, offering home audiences unprecedented intimacy with the action.

The Move to Colour and Complete Live Coverage

Television coverage continued to innovate across the 1960s. By March 29, 1969, the Grand National was broadcast in colour for the first time, transforming the viewer experience and adding new vibrancy to what was, by then, Britain’s most-watched race.

The coverage, still produced by the BBC, brought the green of the turf, the mud of the jumps, and the vivid silks of the jockeys into living rooms, creating an even stronger sense of occasion.

By this era, the coverage was not just of the race itself but included build-up, interviews, analysis, and sometimes glimpses of the high-profile crowds at Aintree.

Television had now fully embraced the Grand National as a spectacle to be chronicled in detail—and viewers’ relationship with the event deepened.

Moving Into the 90s

There was a slump in the National viewing figures in 1995, with only 11.9 million tuning in, and this decreased even further the following year.

This was a cause for concern as prior to 1995, approximately 16 million tuned in a year.

Strangely in 1997, viewing figures saw a massive increase when the National was rescheduled for the Monday following the IRA bomb threats.

A total of 15.1 million tuned in to what was to become the most-watched sports event on TV that year.

1998 was the first year that they attached mini-cameras to three jockeys helmets in three of the races giving a unique view of the Aintree racecourse.

The three races were John Hughes Memorial Trophy, The Martell Fox Hunters’ Chase, and the Grand National.

After the races, the footage was put together for use in a mobile simulator, the Morphis MovieRide Theatre, which is now a permanent attraction in the Aintree Visitors Centre.

It aims to give participants the jockey experience without having to sit on a horse.

In 1999 viewer numbers dipped once again with only 10.1 million viewers, even though the coverage was better than it ever had been.

A record number of 45 cameras were used as opposed to the 16 that were used when the race was first broadcast in 1960.

For more than 50 years, the BBC was the primary custodian of the Grand National on TV, shaping the coverage’s tradition and style.

Programme editors devised increasingly sophisticated production techniques. More cameras were added, from course-side to overhead, while features on horses, trainers, and the betting public enriched the broadcast.

The BBC became known for the comprehensive, human, and slightly reverential tone it brought to horse racing’s greatest event.

In its later years, however, the BBC faced a changing media landscape. Audience fragmentation, rising broadcast rights costs, and the Corporation’s decision to scale back live coverage of sports led to a vulnerability in the renewal of rights.

The Grand National Moves To Channel 4

By 2000 viewing figures had dropped even further to 8.9 million, for which the fine weather was blamed, but still more people watched the Grand National than did Wimbledon, the Olympics and the Golf Open.

2001 saw the National televised to 148 countries around the world, and for the first time, China had live coverage, thereby increasing the potential TV audience to 650 million.

The advent of the internet also meant that the great race could be watched online. Unfortunately, that year there were technical problems that left John Hamner having to commentate on 24 of the 30 fences as opposed to his intended 12.

By 2003 there were only 7.8 million viewers in the UK but more than 600 million tuned in globally.

With viewership figures dwindling, the BBC had to seriously consider their status as the exclusive broadcaster of the Grand National.

When the deal came up for renewal in 2012, they were outbid by Channel 4 in a deal understood to be worth more than £20m.

Channel 4 negotiated a four-year deal to broadcast the Grand National, Derby and Royal Ascot from 2013, making it the exclusive broadcaster of British racing on terrestrial television.

So, in 2013, the most significant shift in National broadcasting history occurred: Channel 4 secured the rights, ending the BBC’s half-century reign.

Channel 4, already a longstanding racing broadcaster, sought to refresh the experience, introducing innovations like helmet cameras on jockeys, new graphics, and interactive digital content.

The presenting team included heavyweights such as Clare Balding, Nick Luck, Alice Plunkett, Rishi Persad, Derek Thompson, Mick Fitzgerald, and betting pundit John McCririck.

Commentary for Channel 4 during this era was led by Simon Holt, with Ian Bartlett and Richard Hoiles providing support.

Ratings during the Channel 4 years fluctuated but remained strong: an 8.9 million peak in 2013, with the 2016 broadcast (the last for the channel) reportedly attracting a peak audience above 10 million, helped in part by a later start at 5:15 p.m.

Nonetheless, compared to earlier BBC peaks, Channel 4's figures typically trailed by around two million.

Broadcasting Moves To iTV

On 27 December 2016, the Welsh Grand National from Chepstow was Channel 4's last coverage of horse racing until 2021. It was speculated that they lost the broadcasting rights due to a decrease in its viewership.

They handed the reins to ITV, who struck a deal to broadcast up to one hundred days of racing each year, including the Cheltenham Festival, the Grand National, the Derby Festival and Royal Ascot.

ITV has been heralded as revitalising British horse racing by recruiting commentators, including A.P. McCoy and Ruby Walsh.

Coverage for the Grand National peaked in 2019 at 9.6 million. The race was cancelled in 2020, so by 2021 the appetite was there.

An audience of 8.8 million tuned in to see Rachael Blackmore become the first female jockey to win the race, and when it came time for the 2022 Grand National, 7.5 million viewers watched Sam Waley-Cohen win on his last ever ride.

The original deal struck with iTV only extended until 2023, however, its broadcasting rights for the Grand National and other major UK horse racing events were officially extended through a new three-year deal announced in March 2023.

The announcement was made at the start of the Cheltenham Festival, underlining ITV's commitment to exclusive, free-to-air coverage of UK horse racing.

The latest extension covers 2024, 2025, and 2026, securing ITV’s exclusive rights until the end of 2026.

The Voices of Racing

No account of Grand National broadcasting is complete without Sir Peter O’Sullevan, dubbed “the Voice of Racing”.

O’Sullevan’s career as the BBC’s lead commentator spanned from 1947 to 1997, covering 50 Nationals.

His calm, measured delivery narrated countless dramatic moments, including Red Rum’s three wins and the infamous “race that never was” in 1993.

O’Sullevan’s presence was so strong that he became as much a part of the National as the course itself; he ended his commentaries with a deep sense of history and empathy for horse, jockey, and spectator alike.

Other legendary commentators and presenters include:

Clare Balding – led several BBC and Channel 4 broadcasts with authority and warmth.

Simon Holt – Channel 4’s primary racecaller from 2000 to 2016, bringing clarity and excitement to the role.

Richard Hoiles – ITV’s principal commentator, noted for voice and analysis.

Derek Thompson – veteran commentator and Channel 4 presenter from the 1980s until the station lost the rights.

Ed Chamberlin – ITV’s principal presenter since 2017, playing a key part in revitalising current broadcasts.

John McCririck – channelled the eccentric, passionate face of betting analysis.

Ruby Walsh, A.P. McCoy, Mick Fitzgerald – former jockeys turned pundits, key to bringing modern insight and behind-the-scenes knowledge to contemporary coverage.

And most recently, broadcasters such as Gina Bryce have made history with new milestones, including becoming the first woman in modern times to call part of the Grand National for BBC Radio.

The Modern Grand National: More Than Just TV

Today, live coverage is available not only on ITV but also through the ITVX digital platform, Racing TV, bookmaker streaming apps, and radio (BBC 5 Live and Talksport).

The race is covered by up to 30 TV broadcasters worldwide, with the three-day Aintree Festival benefiting from wall-to-wall attention.

Accessibility and the variety of broadcast teams—led by Ed Chamberlin, and featuring pundits such as Sir Anthony McCoy, Ruby Walsh, Alice Plunkett, Rishi Persad, and presenters like Sam Quek—are key to the broad appeal and modern relevance of the broadcast.

The televisation of the Grand National mirrors the story of modern broadcasting itself.

It has adapted through radio, black-and-white TV, colour, multi-camera live coverage, commercial competition, and now digital and social media platforms.

Legendary voices like Sir Peter O’Sullevan will always be associated with the event’s golden age, but the race endures, as does the passion with which it is covered and watched by millions in the UK and many more worldwide.

As the broadcasting landscape continues to fragment and reinvent itself, the Grand National remains a spectacle that both shapes and is shaped by the media through which it is seen and heard.

It is British sport’s annual epic, as inseparable from the nation’s technological and cultural progress as it is from the grass, fences, and drama of Aintree.