Sports betting continues to soar in Pennsylvania, with over $100 million in wagers placed in August, and now local television is cashing in.
FOX 29 announced this week a new weekly pregame program called "Props & Locks", which will focus on sports betting and feature former Eagles linebacker Garry Cobb, along with FOX 29's Scott Grayson. FOX Bet gambling expert Todd Fuhrman will also provide analysis, live from Las Vegas, each week.
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The 15-minute show will air after FOX 29's "Game Night Live", and will make its debut Thursday ahead of the Eagles' Thursday Night Football matchup against the Packers. The show leads into the national Thursday Night Football pregame show.
"We’re always striving to bring something new and exciting to Philadelphia-area football fans and this is a unique way to achieve that goal," FOX 29 Sports Director Tom Sredenschek said in a release. "As the way we consume the game continues to evolve, so too is our programming. We’re excited to bring fans closer to this side of it."
The announcement follows a similar expansion on radio airwaves: last month, iHeartMedia launched a Philly-area gambling radio station called "The Gambler" in a partnership with Fox Sports.
Fox has made a serious recent push in the Pennsylvania sports betting market, launching its mobile FOX Bet app in the Keystone State earlier this summer, which allows Pennsylvania residents to bet on pro sports right from their phones. The app is only available in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, for now.
Between exponential growth in Pennsylvania and unmatched numbers in New Jersey -- the Garden State's sports books beat out Nevada in wagers placed back in May -- it seems the northeast corridor is suddenly the place to be for sports betting fans.
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