The floodgates for new sports betting TV shows are about to open in a big way.
Fox Sports is developing a sports gambling-driven show starring Charissa Thompson, Brent Musburger, oddsmaker Todd Fuhrman and ESPN bete noire Clay Travis, sources tell Sporting News.
The weekday show is expected to premiere this fall on Fox Sports 1 in the 5-6 p.m. hour after Jason Whitlock's expanded "Speak for Yourself" moves to an earlier time slot, 3-5 p.m.
Thompson is based in Los Angles, while Musburger is based in Las Vegas and Travis in Nashville. Thompson's expected to host a free-wheeling discussion described by one source as an "Around the Horn for sports betting."
Fox representatives did not return calls and emails seeking comment.
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Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for expanded legalized sports wagering, sports TV networks have been in a frenzy to develop sports betting shows that honestly address favorites, underdogs and betting lines without the usual winks and nods. That has created something of a gold rush for TV talent as networks seek a Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder for the 21st century, or the sports gambling equivalent of ESPN's Matthew Berry for fantasy sports.
The FS1 sports betting show will break ground on a number of fronts, say sources. For one, it will be one of the first major sports betting shows to air on pay cable TV. Most gambling shows, such as ESPN+ and Action Network's new "I'll Take That Bet," are offered via over-the-top (OTT) streaming options.
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The show will also highlight the unlikely second career of the 79-year-old Musburger, the legendary sports announcer who has remade himself as a sports betting guru with his Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN).
Musburger just landed a separate gig calling Raiders NFL games on radio . Mystery sports blogger @FakeRudyMartzke broke the Musburger-Raiders news, noted Awful Announcing, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported a day later on Tuesday.
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The show will represent another opportunity for Thompson, who rebuffed lucrative offers from ex-employer ESPN to stay with Fox and FS1 on the West Coast.
It will also mark the closest collaboration yet between Travis and Fox Sports. The host of the "Outkick the Coverage" morning radio show has become Public Enemy No. 1 in Bristol for his frequent charges that ESPN has turned into a left-wing, politically correct sports version of MSNBC.
Travis recently signed a multiyear extension with Fox Sports Radio to continue doing "Outkick the Coverage."
Separately, with Colin Cowherd stepping down from "SFY" to focus on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" and his "Fox NFL Kickoff" pregame show with Thompson, Whitlock will break in ESPN's popular Marcellus Wiley as his new co-host, say sources. Wiley has all but confirmed the news, tweeting his goodbyes to ESPN friends and colleagues.