David Ashforth, the English racing journalist, reports in today's Racing Post that Television Games Network "is involved in exploratory discussions with the Racecourse Association and the Tote with a view to launching an interactive television betting channel" in Great Britain.
Ashforth says TVG is the "front-line contender" among a range of partners being considered by the RCA, individual racecourses and the Tote. He quoted Tom Aronson, TVG's senior vice president in charge of international business development, as saying ,"We have presented ourselves as a new possibility, either on our own or in conjunction with a UK-based programmer, and anticipate a continuing dialogue with racecourses on a more or less daily basis. We can bring the most exciting technical and wagering systems available and offer the most meaningful presentation of UK racing to the rest of the world."
Aronson told Ashforth that TVG planned to launch full interactivity on digital television set-top systems in the next three months. The chairman of the Tote, Peter Jones, called current quality of pictures on the Internet "moderate" and said Tote "may decide that better availability and return from betting could be more easily obtained through a digital television service concentrating on racing with interactive betting."
Tote's CEO, John Heaton, said "We like the concept of an exclusive racing channel rather than a
general sports channel."