 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | FanDuel |
| Sister channels | FanDuel Racing,FanDuel Sports Network |
| History | |
| Launched | July 14, 1999 (1999-07-14) (as TVG) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
FanDuel TV (formerlyTVG) is an Americansportsbetting-orienteddigital cable andsatellite television network owned byFanDuel Group, the American subsidiary of IrishbookmakerFlutter Entertainment.[1] It primarily airs live coverage of American and internationalhorse racing, as well as studio shows focused on mainstream sports from the perspective of sports betting.
The network was originally established asTVG, which primarily focused on horse racing. In 2008, the network was sold toBetfair. 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.
FanDuel TV was launched on July 14, 1999, asTVG (short for Television Games Network) and was founded as a joint venture ofTV Guide Inc. (which at the time was owned by bothLiberty Media andNews Corp.), theNational Thoroughbred Racing Association, andAT&T Broadband.[2]
In May 2006, TVG introduced several new programs to its schedule, includingMorning Line,Fandicapping,:58 Flat,Lady Luck, andDrive 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 withChurchill Downs Incorporated. On May 2, 2008, Gemstar-TV Guide was acquired by Macrovision (nowTiVo Corporation) for $2.8 billion.
Macrovision, which purchased Gemstar-TV Guide to boost the value ofVCR Plus+ andelectronic program guide patents, later stated that it was considering a sale of TVG, TV Guide Network, and theTV Guide print edition's namesake to other parties.
At the end of 2008,Macrovision sold TVG to BritishbookmakerBetfair 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 tosports betting. TheU.S. Supreme Court recently struck down theProfessional 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 thedaily fantasy sports serviceFanDuel with the intent to use it as its main U.S. subsidiary. On September 9, 2018, coinciding with the2018 NFL season, TVG Network premiered the new Sunday morning programsTheBarstool Sports Advisors andMore Ways to Win.[7][8]
The network saw an increase in prominence during theCOVID-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'sFonner 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 channelNBCSN to simulcast a block ofTrackside Live on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons.[9]
In July 2022, it was reported that FanDuel was considering a relaunch of TVG Network asFanDuel TV as early as September 2022, building uponMore 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 againstVSiN, 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] With the rebranding, the network launched two new weekday studio shows;Up & Adams—a morning show hosted by formerNFL Network anchorKay Adams, andRun it Back—anNBA-focused program hosted byMichelle Beadle,Shams Charania,Chandler Parsons, andLou Williams—which airs on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesdays.[14][15] FanDuel announced plans for shows developed byPat McAfee's PMI Network, and a content deal withThe Ringer. The network also expanded its live sports programming into international basketball via an agreement withSportradar, adding coverage of Australia'sNational Basketball League, theChinese Basketball Association, theLNB in France, and Germany'sBasketball Bundesliga.[13][16][17] The rebranding was completed in September 2022, with TVG renamedFanDuel TV and TVG2 renamedFanDuel Racing.
In April 2024, the channel launched FanDuel TV Extra, a streamingfree ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel featuring a selection of the channel's studio programs and live sports events.[18] FanDuel TV has also syndicated its original programming onYouTube and via other broadcasters, reaching deals to streamUp & Adams onMax, and airings onMSG Network andTruTV.[19]
On October 21, 2024, as part of an agreement withDiamond Sports Group, the Bally Sportsregional sports networks were rebranded asFanDuel Sports Network (FDSN). FDSN is separate from FanDuel TV, with FanDuel only serving as anaming 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).[20][21]