30-second summary

• The New England Sports Network is teaming up with a production company to air a new sports betting show
• The show will air each morning during the week
• ESPN and Fox Sports already have their own sports betting shows on the air

Details of this new show

The New England Sports Network (NESN) ranks as one of the behemoths of regional sports networks in the United States. The network has formed a partnership with a growing media company that focuses on gambling content.

NESN is best known for its coverage of Boston Bruins and Boston Red Sox games. The partnership with the Vegas Stats and Information Network (VSiN) will result in a new weekday show built around sports betting.

The show, which will debut in April, is the latest in a wave of new shows that television networks are producing now that the federal ban on sports betting no longer exists.

The show will air each weekday from 7 am until 10 am. Called “Follow the Money,” it will be a talk show focused on sports betting and hosted by Paul Howard and Mitch Moss. The show will also be replayed daily.

This is a preemptive move because sports betting is not yet legal in most of the New England states. Only Rhode Island currently has open sportsbooks. However, NESN’s vice president for programming, Rich Jaffe, said: “This is our way of being part of a phenomenon that is only going to grow and grow.”

Burgeoning partnership

NESN is owned by the Fenway Sports Group. They also own Delaware North (owner of the Boston Bruins) and the Boston Red Sox. There is no partnership with any of these teams as part of the new deal.

VSiN, which has been broadcasting since 2017, is based at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas. The network has partnerships with other notable parties, including the New York Post and many radio networks in the US. NESN has chosen VSiN to produce the show?because of its experience in the sector.

Other networks are beginning to cash in on the hype around sports betting with their own shows on the topic. For example, Fox Sports 1 has a daily show called “Lock It In”?and a new show?called “Daily Wager” airs on the ESPNews channel. The show’s host is Doug Kezirian and it is on between 6 pm and 7 pm.

Any potential backlash?

Just as there was a lot of opposition to legalizing sports betting, there is going to be some backlash toward gambling content. There is a concern that a lot of underage people will be watching this content.

This will expose them to gambling at a young age and could have a bad influence on their developing brains. It will normalize gambling in a lot of their minds, increasing the risk of developing a problem with gambling.

Some of the major sports leagues may also try to have a say on how these shows operate. They want to make sure that all of their respective rules are being met.

In this day and age, with on-demand television replacing a lot of the demand for traditional television networks, they need to try and innovate to hold onto viewers. With so many people interested in sports betting, this content will be the ideal draw. These shows will help viewers learn more about sports betting and pick up tips and strategy for their own betting.

As more states make sports betting legal, the demand for these shows will only grow. It is likely that most major sports networks will have some form of regularly scheduled gambling show.