NBC to present Kentucky Derby online betting show

After seven states have already legalized gambling, NBC Sports has added the 30-minute show, NBC Sports Bet: Derby Special on Saturday as a digital companion to its regular TV coverage.

"We want to become a known destination and a known player in the space in 2019, for sure," Dan Pozner, NBC’s director of sports betting content, told The Post this week.

What Pozner and other networks are trying to do is figure out the future of TV. Fox Sports has its own daily afternoon talk show with "Lock It In," as does ESPNews with “Daily Wager.”

NBC has launched “Pick ‘Em” games for its Premier League and golf coverage. On the regional level, it has experimented with betting-focused alternative broadcasts for the Washington Wizards and the Philadelphia 76ers.

On Saturday, Ahmed Fareed will host the NBCSports.com show. The program will have many guests and will feature Eddie Olczyk, the former Ranger who is NBC’s chief handicapper. Olzyck, as compared to the regular broadcast, will have expanded time as he tries to match his success from last year, when he picked the top three finishers.

The idea is to give the latest information prior to bettors deciding where to put their money.

"That is one thing I’m going to ask all of our announcers — I give you 10 bucks, how can you make $100?" said Billy Matthews, the program’s producer.

At this point, all the new sports gambling shows are noteworthy, but one day it seems inevitable that it will just be a regular part of viewing.

"Now there is such a movement of the acceptance of sports betting and it becoming much more mainstream, there is more of an appetite for it," Pozner said. "Why not lean into it more in a sport where it has always been part of it and is inherent?"