The latest new gambling-focused shows are coming from TVG and FanDuel.
Back in July, we covered how FanDuel and its parent company Paddy Power Betfair LLC planned to create sports betting-focused TV shows for their TVG channel (which has usually focused on horse racing), how they were “going to be investing heavily in content,” and how those shows would likely feature names from outside FanDuel. Well, they’ve now announced their first two shows, More Ways to Win and The Barstool Sports Advisors, and those fit what they were talking about.
More Ways to Win will be hosted by former ESPN anchor Lisa Kerney, and will also feature Dani Klupenger (currently a Seahawks’ reporter with NBC Sports Northwest and a college football reporter with Stadium), Jason McIntyre (currently of The Big Lead, FS1’s Speak For Yourself and Fox Sports Radio’s The Big Lead with Jason McIntyre), and fantasy expert Brandon Funston (now of The Athletic, formerly of Yahoo Sports and ESPN). Long-time TVG host and reporter Dave Weaver will also add live reports from the FanDuel Sportsbook at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
Meanwhile, The Barstool Sports Advisors will feature Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, Pardon My Take‘s Dan “Big Cat” Katz and PFT Commenter, and Stu “The Source” Feiner, with 30 minutes of that syndicated from Barstool’s site and then a 30-minute original-to-TVG show following. The Barstool Sports Advisors will air Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern, with the two-hour More Ways to Win following at 11 a.m. Eastern. (The international racing programming previously on TVG in the 11 a.m. slot will now air on TVG2).
Here are some quotes from the TVG release:
“The expansion of our Sunday morning programming, including our partnership with Barstool Sports, will bring a whole new audience to our network for a mix of sports betting, news and daily fantasy content that’s relevant to their interests,” said Kip Levin, CEO of TVG Network and COO of FanDuel Group. “Our Sunday morning programming will now offer up-to-the-minute sports betting information, football news, and expert opinions and insights to complement our customary coverage of the best in live horse racing from around the world. The integration of fantasy and sports betting content into our television assets provides a unique, unmatched marketing platform for the FanDuel Group.”
…“Our goal is that More Ways to Win will revolutionize sports betting news and information in the same way CNBC changed television coverage of the stock market,” said Kevin Grigsby, Executive Producer of More Ways to Win and Senior Vice President of Content Development at TVG. “TVG’s proven experience with live sports programming, along with our world-class cast of talent will make More Ways to Win an innovative Sunday offering for any sports fan waiting for kickoff.”
…“I’ve been a fan of TVG forever and I’m excited to bring Barstool Sports to the network,” said Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports.
It’s interesting to see FanDuel and TVG dive into the gambling content market this way. They’re far from alone, as The Big Lead’s Ryan Glasspiegel notes, with FS1 launching a daily gambling show Lock It In next week, regular streaming offerings from CBS Sports HQ, The Action Network/ESPN+, SI TV, and more, and a ton of radio content, including Brent Musburger’s VSiN network on Sirius XM. And that’s to say nothing of other things reportedly in the pipeline from NBC and others. But TVG has a fair bit of reach, with their release saying they’re in an estimated 60 million homes as well as available through Apple TV/Amazon Fire/Roku, and they already have an audience interested in sports betting. And Barstool certainly has an audience of their own to bring to the table. We’ll see how much traction these shows get.
http://awfulannouncing.com/gambling/tvg-fanduel-more-ways-to-win-barstool-sports-advisors.html