TVG, Nation's First Horse-Racing Cable TV Channel, Is For Sale

TVG, the nation's "first horse-racing cable-television channel, is for sale," according to Gregory Hall of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) "won't say whether it's looking to buy the network, as is widely speculated in the industry," and CDI President & CEO Bob Evans in his most recent public comments to investors and analysts was "coy when asked whether the company had expansion plans." Hall reported TVG's new owner will "immediately become a major player in the thoroughbred industry." The new buyer "could be a catalyst for addressing issues that have frustrated bettors the past two years -- disputes among national account-wagering companies over content sharing, and arguments between tracks and horsemen over how to share revenue from account wagering." The dispute among horsemen and tracks has "resulted in some racing -- including Churchill Downs' -- not being made available to national account-wagering platforms." NTRA Exec Dir Bob Elliston said that he "hopes the sale of TVG helps settle the logjam." Meanwhile, Hall noted TVG is "unique in that it is both a television operation and an account-wagering platform -- where online and telephone bettors deposit money in advance." TVG's national competitors, Youbet.com, TwinSpires and Magna Entertainment Corp.'s XpressBet, are account-wagering companies. Magna and Churchill are co-owners of the "competing HRTV cable channel, which is available in fewer homes than TVG." TVG is "now in 30.6 million homes in 16 states, and last year handled about $480[M] in bets" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 11/23).