NYRA Coverage On Fox Sports (UPDATE: 500 hours of BEL/SAR)

[Gaelic Storm]

I love the show, I think it is great, better than any coverage on NBC or ESPN. My one issue is that it seems the race that goes off between 3:30 and 4pm always seems to be a maiden 2yo race and there is no pre race prattle so we don't get Maggie or Mig giving us valuable info. I know on weekends that race starts the pick 6 but still it seems like the more customer friendly thing to do would be schedule a different race at that time.

[Kasept]

Nearly every Belmont, Saratoga card to be shown on Fox Sports
By Matt Hegarty

The New York Racing Association has reached a deal with Fox Sports that will put nearly every card at NYRA’s Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course on the company’s television networks for at least the next two years, the two companies announced on Thursday.

The multiyear agreement, which will result in 500 hours of live programming on Fox’s television networks in 2019 and over 600 hours in 2020, the companies said, is the most expansive television deal for a racing entity since the launch of TVG nearly two decades ago. Under the deal, NYRA will produce the broadcasts on a daily basis, using its talent and a Fox Sports host, Greg Wolf, with funding also provided through a presenting sponsorship by America’s Best Racing, the marketing company owned by the Jockey Club.

“This is a transformative agreement between NYRA and Fox Sports that will dramatically expand national television coverage of the best Thoroughbred racing in the country,” said Chris Kay, the chief executive of NYRA, in a release. “With increased competition for wagering dollars, we recognize the importance of capturing the attention of sports fans and bettors using high-quality television production to provide the best coverage and racing analysis anywhere today.”

The deal is non-exclusive, according to NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna, meaning NYRA’s races will continue to be broadcast on TVG, the sport’s only dedicated horse racing channel, and on other regional networks, such as MSG.

However, whereas the NYRA races share air time with competing tracks on TVG, the Fox broadcasts will focus exclusively on NYRA’s product, and the Fox broadcasts will also be more widely available in high-definition. While TVG has the capacity to broadcast in high-definition, it has been assigned high-definition slots on only a handful of cable and satellite networks, to the frustration of many top-class racetracks like NYRA that have invested significant resources in high-definition capabilities.

NYRA officials declined to discuss additional financial arrangements of the deal.

Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports’s executive vice president of league operations, research, and strategy, said that the company is increasingly looking for live sports content, and that the company is especially interested in live content related to wagering in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year allowing states to legalize sports betting. FS2 recently launched a show dedicated to sports-betting topics.

“We’re in the live content business, we’re in the live sports business,” said Mulvihill, who is a horseplayer and racing fan. “And we think what we have here is the most valuable, compelling content in the ecosystem.”

Mulvihill also cited Fox Sports’s history with NYRA as proof that the racing association “can deliver high-quality content.” NYRA first partnered with Fox Sports in 2016 to produce a series of live broadcasts from Saratoga that resulted in 80 hours of live programming. The series was expanded in 2017 and 2018 with additional coverage from Saratoga and broadcasts from Belmont Park.

McKenna said that the broadcasts will primarily run on FS2 and feature nearly every card run at Belmont Park’s fall and spring meetings and at Saratoga, NYRA’s most popular racetrack. The broadcasts will run at least one hour each day, and will often run as long as six hours, McKenna said, particularly on weekends.

Because NYRA has not yet released its live racing schedule for 2019 and 2020, specific details on broadcast windows have not yet been hammered out, McKenna said. NYRA typically runs 225 live race cards annually at its three tracks, which, in addition to Belmont and Saratoga, also includes Aqueduct. NYRA also operates its own account-wagering network, NYRA Bets, which is expected to be heavily promoted during the broadcasts.

[casp0555]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Nearly every Belmont, Saratoga card to be shown on Fox Sports
By Matt Hegarty

The New York Racing Association has reached a deal with Fox Sports that will put nearly every card at NYRA’s Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course on the company’s television networks for at least the next two years, the two companies announced on Thursday......

AWESOME!!!!

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by Kasept

Nearly every Belmont, Saratoga card to be shown on Fox Sports
By Matt Hegarty

The New York Racing Association has reached a deal with Fox Sports that will put nearly every card at NYRA’s Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course on the company’s television networks for at least the next two years, the two companies announced on Thursday.

The multiyear agreement, which will result in 500 hours of live programming on Fox’s television networks in 2019 and over 600 hours in 2020, the companies said, is the most expansive television deal for a racing entity since the launch of TVG nearly two decades ago. Under the deal, NYRA will produce the broadcasts on a daily basis, using its talent and a Fox Sports host, Greg Wolf, with funding also provided through a presenting sponsorship by America’s Best Racing, the marketing company owned by the Jockey Club.

“This is a transformative agreement between NYRA and Fox Sports that will dramatically expand national television coverage of the best Thoroughbred racing in the country,” said Chris Kay, the chief executive of NYRA, in a release. “With increased competition for wagering dollars, we recognize the importance of capturing the attention of sports fans and bettors using high-quality television production to provide the best coverage and racing analysis anywhere today.”

The deal is non-exclusive, according to NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna, meaning NYRA’s races will continue to be broadcast on TVG, the sport’s only dedicated horse racing channel, and on other regional networks, such as MSG.

However, whereas the NYRA races share air time with competing tracks on TVG, the Fox broadcasts will focus exclusively on NYRA’s product, and the Fox broadcasts will also be more widely available in high-definition. While TVG has the capacity to broadcast in high-definition, it has been assigned high-definition slots on only a handful of cable and satellite networks, to the frustration of many top-class racetracks like NYRA that have invested significant resources in high-definition capabilities.

NYRA officials declined to discuss additional financial arrangements of the deal.

Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports’s executive vice president of league operations, research, and strategy, said that the company is increasingly looking for live sports content, and that the company is especially interested in live content related to wagering in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year allowing states to legalize sports betting. FS2 recently launched a show dedicated to sports-betting topics.

“We’re in the live content business, we’re in the live sports business,” said Mulvihill, who is a horseplayer and racing fan. “And we think what we have here is the most valuable, compelling content in the ecosystem.”

Mulvihill also cited Fox Sports’s history with NYRA as proof that the racing association “can deliver high-quality content.” NYRA first partnered with Fox Sports in 2016 to produce a series of live broadcasts from Saratoga that resulted in 80 hours of live programming. The series was expanded in 2017 and 2018 with additional coverage from Saratoga and broadcasts from Belmont Park.

McKenna said that the broadcasts will primarily run on FS2 and feature nearly every card run at Belmont Park’s fall and spring meetings and at Saratoga, NYRA’s most popular racetrack. The broadcasts will run at least one hour each day, and will often run as long as six hours, McKenna said, particularly on weekends.

Because NYRA has not yet released its live racing schedule for 2019 and 2020, specific details on broadcast windows have not yet been hammered out, McKenna said. NYRA typically runs 225 live race cards annually at its three tracks, which, in addition to Belmont and Saratoga, also includes Aqueduct. NYRA also operates its own account-wagering network, NYRA Bets, which is expected to be heavily promoted during the broadcasts.

BY TVG...

[jms62]

Originally Posted by freddymo

BY TVG...

Personally I don't think so.. They are already transitioning to additional areas being Daily Fantasy and Sports betting.. Don't see them affected one way or another. NYRA knows the landscape. They would lose handle if they went exclusive and got rid of TVG because of the asinine Monopoly ADW's have in some states. Now if Fox was able to get in bed with say the Fan Duel's and/or Draft Kings and bring a Horse Race wagering (Regular ADW not Fantasy based) offering AND was able to spend the money to Open up all markets allowing multiple ADW's to then that is a completely different story. They could be a one stop shop for all things sports betting/fantasy and do it much better than TVG. Overall though it is a good thing for us as NYRA produces a better show than TVG and I wouldn't have to get on Roku to watch Hi Def which is a pain when I am flipping back and forth between other sports...

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by jms62

Personally I don't think so.. They are already transitioning to additional areas being Daily Fantasy and Sports betting.. Don't see them affected one way or another. NYRA knows the landscape. They would lose handle if they went exclusive and got rid of TVG because of the asinine Monopoly ADW's have in some states. Now if Fox was able to get in bed with say the Fan Duel's and/or Draft Kings and bring a Horse Race wagering (Regular ADW not Fantasy based) offering AND was able to spend the money to Open up all markets allowing multiple ADW's to then that is a completely different story. They could be a one stop shop for all things sports betting/fantasy and do it much better than TVG. Overall though it is a good thing for us as NYRA produces a better show than TVG and I wouldn't have to get on Roku to watch Hi Def which is a pain when I am flipping back and forth between other sports...

I wasn't suggesting they would take the signal away that would be insane just that I am never watching TVG again save the odd stakes from another circuit

[jms62]

Originally Posted by freddymo

I wasn't suggesting they would take the signal away that would be insane just that I am never watching TVG again save the odd stakes from another circuit

Sorry I misunderstood..

[jnunan4759]

Actually NYRABets has now gone into Pennsylvania. Intend to sign up, but looking for a good promo. The app is something I use on my tablet and PC and is HD. I do get HD on my TV when they are on FS2 on Belmont,Saratoga,Aqueduct Live. I have TVG and TVG2, but neither are in HD. I read that TVG is on to a good number of providers, but not a lot of HD. Most channels I can see in regular or HDTV, not TVG. Wouldn't think it would be that hard. TVG is an HD signal and the cable providers just shrink it.