Three days after launching William Hill TV, officials with the UK bookmaker are delighted with the initial response from punters.
William Hill TV debuted Wednesday as a free channel for digital cable subscribers throughout the UK. On the very first night of broadcasting, which went live with very little fanfare, Hill got 500 new registrants for its interactive betting options, according to company spokesperson David Hood.
While the channel is free for those viewers with digital service, Hood said viewers have proven willing to put a flutter on the handful of live racing coverage that Hill debuted on the first two nights. Turnover for greyhound races on Wednesday and Thursday night was up more than 400 percent, compared to a normal evening of racing without televised coverage, he said.
"We have seen a tremendous response, especially from a cold start," Hood said on Friday as he was gearing up for the third night of live coverage. "We are delighted with the feedback since we launched on Wednesday."
The network currently offers live racing in the evenings (7 p.m.-10:30 p.m.) and then interactive betting options for the remainder of its programming. Hood said even though live racing comprises only a portion of the schedule (live racing is aired five days a week from Tuesday to Saturday), viewers have taken to the interactive wagering options.
"We have roulette, Spin to Win, and other random-number-generator-based games that have proven very popular in the early going," he said.
The interactive games offered through the channel are similar to ones found on fixed odds betting terminals in betting shops throughout the UK. The FOBTs have seen a huge spike in popularity over the last two years.
The increased exposure for racing has driven business to other William Hill operations too, Hood said. When phone and Internet betting factor into the equation, he said growth has been near 500 percent since the launch of the new channel.
"From acorns grow oaks," he said. "We are taking a steady approach with this and not being to aggressive."
And it isn't just the punters who have taken a liking to the new channel. Hood said those in the greyhound racing industry that had voiced some speculation about the channel during the development phase have had a change of heart now that the network is live.
"Greyhound and industry critics seem to have embraced the format and we have gotten positive feedback from the media and racing press," he said.
Even with its steady approach for the channel, Hood said William Hill TV could become a major piece of the bookmaker's branding efforts in the future.
Short-term plans could see the network expanding its live coverage to seven days a week and going from 7 p.m.-midnight each night.
Live coverage could also be expanded down the road to include the finals of poker tournaments that William Hill would first sponsor online.
"Right now William Hill Poker is one of the major sponsors of content on the channel," he said. "We could do some branding with them where they would have an online poker tournament and then once it got down to the finals we would televise it. Those are all long term approaches and ideas, right now we are still feeling our way through the process and making sure we do this the right way and not the wrong way."
William Hill already inked a deal with a third greyhound track to add double-header racing for the last three Friday night's of coverage in October, Hood said.
For William Hill it isn't a matter of whether or not other bookmakers (like Ladbrokes or Coral) will follow suit, but more a question of when they will launch similar channels of their own.
Hood did say Ladborkes, which owns two greyhound tracks, was approached by William Hill to be a part of the channel, but it is still early in the process to get a feel regarding the direction those talks might take.
"We have left the door open for some of our rivals to join us if they want to," he said. "Ladbrokes is in a unique situation since they own a couple of tracks and could very easily provide us with content. All of our competitors are going to benefit from this channel just on the extra turnover that is conducted in their betting shops. The more live races punters see, the more they are going to bet on them. It doesn't matter if a guy is in a William Hill shop or a Ladbrokes shop or who is providing the coverage. If he can watch it he will bet on it."