TVG expands to Maryland cable

Subscribers to Comcast's digital-plus cable package in the Baltimore area began receiving the 24-hour horse racing channel Television Games Network on Friday.

The launch made TVG available to approximately 40,000 cable subscibers and opened up Maryland's cable system to TVG for the first time. Maryland is one of the five states in which TVG currently accepts bets.

TVG officials have said this year that the network plans to aggressively expand its service in 2001, citing existing agreements with several cable companies and federal legislation passed last year that clarified interstate betting.

In addition to Baltimore, Comcast has cable systems in Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Sacramento, and Washington D.C. In Baltimore, TVG is being offered as part of a premium package of channels, but not as part of basic digital service, TVG officials said.

TVG's biggest markets are in Kentucky, where it is available over local cable in Lexington and Louisville. The network is also available over the Dish Network, a satellite system with approximately 6 million subscribers.