TVG Network

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. It primarily airs live coverage of U.S. and international horse racing, as well as studio shows focused on mainstream sports from the perspective of sports betting.

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

TVG (1999–2022)

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.

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. 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.

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''.

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.

FanDuel TV (2022–present)

In 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.

FanDuel officially announced the planned relaunch on August 25, 2022. With the rebranding, the network launched two new weekday studio shows; ''Up & Adams''—a morning show hosted by former NFL Network anchor Kay Adams, and ''Run it Back''—an NBA-focused program hosted by Michelle Beadle, Shams Charania, Chandler Parsons, and Lou Williams—which airs on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesdays. FanDuel 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. 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. FanDuel TV has also syndicated its original programming on YouTube and via other broadcasters, reaching deals to stream ''Up & Adams'' on Max, and airings on MSG Network and TruTV.

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, and to syndicate its studio programming via the channels).

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:FanDuel TV
Television channels and stations established in 1999
Companies based in Hillsboro, Oregon
English-language television stations in the United States
Sports television networks in the United States
Television networks in the United States
Horse racing mass media
Online gambling companies of the United States
1999 establishments in the United States