FanDuel TV (formerly TVG) is an American sports betting-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by FanDuel Group, the U.S. subsidiary of Irish bookmaker Flutter Entertainment.[1] It primarily airs live coverage of U.S. and international horse racing as well as studio shows focused on mainstream sports.
 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | FanDuel |
| Sister channels | FanDuel Racing, FanDuel Sports Network |
| History | |
| Launched | July 14, 1999 (as TVG) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
The network was originally established as TVG, which primarily focused on horse racing. In 2008, the network was sold to Betfair. It acquired its main competitor, HRTV, in 2015; the network was renamed TVG2 in October of that year. In 2018, the channel began to add studio programs devoted to mainstream sports from the perspective of sports betting. In 2022, the network was relaunched as FanDuel TV, which expands upon this programming strategy and began forays into live sports coverage outside of horse racing. The TVG brand continues to be used for the network's wagering platform.
History
editTVG (1999–2022)
edit
FanDuel TV was launched on July 14, 1999, as TVG (short for Television Games Network) and was founded as a joint venture of TV Guide Inc. (which at the time was owned by both Liberty Media and News Corp.), the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, and AT&T Broadband.[2]
In May 2006, TVG introduced several new programs to its schedule, including Morning Line, Fandicapping, :58 Flat, Lady Luck, and Drive Time.
The channel formerly operated a fictional betting site, TVGfree.net, which allowed it to have a presence in the fifteen states that prohibit televised and off-track betting, operating similarly to poker sites that use the .net domain to differentiate their fictional betting sites from the .com sites that allow gambling. The site was discontinued at the start of 2012 due to a site upgrade and currently redirects to TVG.com.
At the end of February 2007, TVG ended its longtime affiliation with Churchill Downs Incorporated. On May 2, 2008, Gemstar-TV Guide was acquired by Macrovision (now TiVo Corporation) for $2.8 billion.
Macrovision, which purchased Gemstar-TV Guide to boost the value of VCR Plus+ and electronic program guide patents, later stated that it was considering a sale of TVG, TV Guide Network, and the TV Guide print edition's namesake to other parties.
At the end of 2008, Macrovision sold TVG to British bookmaker Betfair for $50 million. The deal was completed on January 27, 2009, separating the channel from the company, which acquired its founding owner in 2007.[3] In February 2015, Betfair acquired TVG's sole competitor, HRTV, and began to consolidate it into TVG's facilities. The network was rebranded as a sister network, TVG2, in October 2015.[4][5][6]
In July 2018, the network announced that it was developing studio programs dedicated to sports betting. The U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, making it legal for states outside of Delaware, Oregon, Montana, and Nevada to allow sports betting. Paddy Power Betfair had also recently acquired the daily fantasy sports service FanDuel with the intent to use it as its main U.S. subsidiary. On September 9, 2018, coinciding with the 2018 NFL season, TVG Network premiered the new Sunday morning programs The Barstool Sports Advisors and More Ways to Win.[7][8]
The network saw an increase in prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the shutdown of nearly all other live sports prompted increased interest in horse racing and off-track betting at tracks that remain active. The limited tracks available resulted in greater prominence given to smaller tracks and meets such as Nebraska's Fonner Park and Oklahoma's Will Rogers Downs, and the network's personalities made efforts to accommodate new viewers and explain the technical terminology associated with horse racing and wagers. TVG also reached an agreement with the mainstream sports channel NBCSN to simulcast a block of Trackside Live on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons.[9]
FanDuel TV (2022–present)
editIn July 2022, it was reported that FanDuel was considering a relaunch of TVG Network as FanDuel TV as early as September 2022, building upon More Ways to Win by adding a morning block of sports talk shows as well as sports news segments interspersed throughout its live racing block. Such a service would compete primarily against VSiN, which was recently acquired by FanDuel's main U.S. competitor, DraftKings.[10][11][12]
FanDuel officially announced the planned relaunch on August 25, 2022;[13] it added a live, weekday program featuring former NFL Network host Kay Adams and announced plans for shows developed by Pat McAfee's PMI Network and a content deal with The Ringer. The network also expanded its live sports programming into international basketball via an agreement with Sportradar, adding coverage of Australia's National Basketball League, the Chinese Basketball Association, the LNB in France, and Germany's Basketball Bundesliga.[13][14][15] The rebranding was completed in September 2022, with TVG renamed FanDuel TV and TVG2 renamed FanDuel Racing.
In April 2024, the channel launched FanDuel TV Extra, a streaming free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel featuring a selection of the channel's studio programs and live sports events.[16]
On October 21, 2024, as part of an agreement with Diamond Sports Group, the Bally Sports regional sports networks were rebranded as FanDuel Sports Network (FDSN). FDSN is separate from FanDuel TV, with FanDuel only serving as a naming rights partner, and Diamond remaining the owner and operator of the networks (albeit with an option for FanDuel to acquire an equity stake of up to 5% once Diamond exits from bankruptcy). The agreement does contain the option for FanDuel TV to syndicate its original programs on FDSN.[17][18]
Up & Adams, a weekday morning sports talk program hosted by Kay Adams, was syndicated in September 2024 through an agreement with MSG Network and TruTV.[19][20]
References
edit- ^ "Betfair US/TVG's Levin Sees 'Positive Early Indicators' In Exchange Wagering Launch In New Jersey – Horse Racing News | Paulick Report". www.paulickreport.com. September 2016. Retrieved 2017-06-28.
- ^ "THIS NETWORK BETTING IT CAN REIN IN HORSEPLAYERS". Chicago Tribune. October 20, 1999. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
- ^ "All Articles - BloodHorse.com". bloodhorse.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ^ "TVG Makes Changes, Rebrands HRTV as TVG2". Blood-Horse. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- ^ "TVG re-brands HRTV, promises more live racing". Courier-Journal. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
- ^ Mitchell, Ron (February 18, 2015). "TVG Acquiring HRTV; Operations to Merge". Blood-Horse. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
- ^ "TVG/FanDuel launch two new gambling shows, More Ways to Win and The Barstool Sports Advisors". Awful Announcing. 2018-09-07. Retrieved 2018-09-08.
- ^ "FanDuel Plans Sports-Gambling TV Shows as Betting Parlors Open". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ "Minnesota-fed horse racing network seizes moment almost all its own". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
- ^ "FanDuel Plans To Turn TVG Into 24/7 Sports Betting Network Featuring Kay Adams | Barrett Media". 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ^ "FanDuel To Create 24/7 Betting Network With Rebranded TVG Channel". www.legalsportsreport.com. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
- ^ "SBJ Betting: Do June handle figures show a trend?". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
- ^ a b Steinberg, Brian (25 August 2022). "FanDuel Readies Launch of Cable Network Focused on Sports Betting". Variety. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- ^ "TVG Network To Be Rebranded As FanDuel TV". Paulick Report. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (2022-08-25). "FanDuel announces rebrand of TVG to FanDuel TV". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2022-08-27.
- ^ Lucia, Joe (2024-05-10). "FanDuel launches new FAST channel, 'FanDuel TV Extra'". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (2024-10-18). "FanDuel Takes Over Naming Rights to Diamond Sports RSNs". Variety. Retrieved 2024-10-19.
- ^ Paul, Tony. "Bally Sports Detroit set to become FanDuel Sports Network; what you need to know". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
- ^ "Kay Adams says 'Thank you, next' to GMFB as she begins new venture". FanSided. 2023-02-15. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
- ^ Axelrod, Ben (2024-09-09). "Kay Adams' 'Up and Adams' to air on truTV and MSG Network". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 2024-09-21.