American horse racing company and TV network
TVG Network ("TVG" being an initialism for its official name Television Games Network) is an online horse and greyhound racing betting business and American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by FanDuel Group, the U.S. subsidiary of Irish bookmaker Flutter Entertainment.[1]
Dedicated to horse racing and greyhound racing, in New Jersey it operates the 4NJBets platform on behalf of the state of New Jersey and its racing industry.[2]
History
The channel was launched on July 14, 1999, and was founded by the United Video Satellite Group, the then owners of the TV Guide Network (now Pop) and TV Guide magazine (from which the "TVG" initials were partially taken). ODS Technologies actually founded the channel, not UVSG. ODS split from UVSG while developing an at home tv based betting platform. They also worked on an internet variant. ODS then moved to Colorado. I don't think UVSG ever actually owned TVG. On October 5, 1999, Gemstar International Group Ltd. purchased United Video Satellite Group.
In May 2006, TVG introduced several new programs to its schedule including Morning Line, Fandicapping, :58 Flat, Lady Luck (an all female panel discussion program focusing on the day's races) and Drive Time (which covered exclusive racing from the Meadowlands). TVG places microphones on select jockeys, owners, trainers, and the starting crew.
The channel formerly operated a fictional betting site, TVGfree.net, which allowed it to have a presence in the fifteen states which prohibit televised and off track betting, operating similarly to poker sites which use the .net domain to differentiate their fictional betting sites from the .com sites which allow real gambling. The site was discontinued at the start of 2012 due to a site upgrade, and currently redirects to TVG.com.
In 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 mostly to boost the value of its lucrative 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.
In the end of 2008, Macrovision sold TVG to Betfair for $50 million in cash consideration. The deal was consummated 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 re branded as a sister network, TVG2, in October 2015.[4][5][6]
In July 2018, with the removal of restrictions on U.S. states' ability to offer sports betting, the network announced that it was developing studio programs dedicated to the subject. Paddy Power Betfair had recently acquired daily fantasy sports service FanDuel, with an intent to use it as its U.S. subsidiary. The new programs, The Barstool Sports Advisors and More Ways to Win, would air on Sunday mornings beginning September 9, 2018 (coinciding with the 2018 NFL season).[7][8]
The network saw an increase in prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the shutdown of nearly all other live sports has prompted increased interest in horse racing and off-track betting from tracks that remain active; the limited tracks available have 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 have 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 (which reaches at least 80 million homes, as opposed to TVG's 45 million) to simulcast a block of Trackside Live on Friday through Sunday afternoons.[9]
Wagering services
TVG offers wagering services to residents of Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey (under 4NJBets), New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.[10] TVG account holders are able to wager online at TVG.com, or by landline or mobile phone.
Programming
TVG covers over one hundred tracks, with exclusive coverage of several tracks, including North American tracks such as Woodbine Race Course, Keeneland Race Course, Del Mar Racetrack, Meadowlands, and Monmouth Park. The network also broadcasts races from various tracks in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Japan, Norway, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom
TVG coverage includes events, such as the Travers Stakes, Haskell Invitational, Pacific Classic, Hollywood Gold Cup, Blue Grass Stakes, Wood Memorial, Melbourne Cup, Japan Cup and the All American Futurity.
Current programming
- The Barstool Sports Advisors – A Sunday morning program featuring personalities from the website Barstool Sports, including David Portnoy, Dan Katz and PFT Commenter (Pardon My Take), and Stu Feiner.[7]
- Drive Time – A harness racing program, featuring action from Meadowlands, home of the Hambletonian, harness racing's biggest event.
- Horseracing All Access – A program providing a look at horse racing from an insider's perspective.
- Horseracing Today – A Saturday morning preview show highlighting the weekend's stakes action, with emphasis on handicapping angle, exotic and multi race wagers and interviews with trainers and jockeys live from the tracks.
- International Racing – A program with the same format as Horseracing Today, focusing on races at tracks outside the United States.
- Legends – A program featuring conversations with horseracing personalities.
- More Ways to Win – A Sunday morning program dealing with sports coverage from a betting perspective, hosted by Lisa Kerney.[7]
- Pick 6 Central – A program providing analysis for major Pick 6 Carryovers.
- Race Night – Live race telecasts, airing Monday through Thursday evenings.
- Racing Coast to Coast – Live racing from some of the tracks across the United States.
- Starting Gate – A live race telecast program from East Coast tracks, with analysis and handicapping angles for all featured races.
- The Morning Line – Morning talk show, featuring weather reports from tracks around the country and timely updates detailing the morning line and any significant scratches for the day's most important races.
- The Quarters – A late night quarter horse racing program featuring racing, interviews, analysis, and contests, all live from Los Alamitos racetrack.
- The Works – A look at the final preparations of contenders in major stakes races.
- Trackside Live – analysis and information provided by TVG's team of hosts and analysts, live from featured tracks and the Los Angeles studios.
- TVG Classic – Highlights of TVG coverage of past major races and events.
- Television Games – Racing coverage on Mondays and Tuesdays during the day with one host who analyses the races as well as answers emails and tweets. Usually hosted by Rich Perloff and Caleb Keller, although Peter Lurie and Nick Hines have filled in on occasion.
