Sports betting, already deeply enmeshed within the American way of life, continues to generate more media interest by the day since PASPA bit the dust back in May. And its financial value to broadcasters, perceived or otherwise, appears to be rising at a similar rate as states look to go legal.
A good indicator of this perfect storm is the emergence of news channels dedicated to feeding sports fans with all the data they need, and some, to inform their sports wagering decisions. Within the space of a week or so we have seen the entry of Barstool Sports Advisors – a joint venture between TVG Network and FanDuel – and SportsLine Edge which is broadcast by CBS Sports. Joining them is Simms & Lefkoe: The Show, an NFL-focussed effort from the Bleacher Report.
Barstool Sports Advisors, an hour-long program, will run every Sunday at 10am ET and aims to offer up-to-the-minute sports betting information, football news, and expert opinions and insights to complement TVG’s customary coverage of live horse racing from around the world. The integration of fantasy and sports betting content into the broadcaster’s television assets will provide a high profile marketing platform for its affiliate FanDuel.
SportsLine Edge takes a metrics-driven approach to delivering data and insights on sports betting markets and daily fantasy sports to its viewers across 11 hours of programming weekly. It is fronted by DFS tipster and CBS Sports radio host Nick Kostos, with the support of former Las Vegas oddsmaker Todd Fuhrman as co-anchor.
Meanwhile, the Turner-owned Bleacher Report’s Simms & Lefkoe: The Show, gives sports fans the opportunity to bet on games with host Adam Lefkoe’s money. It’s the media firm’s first attempt at producing gambling-themed video content.
These three will now be snapping at the heels of ESPN which flew out of the blocks post-PASPA with its I’ll Take That Bet program produced in partnership with data firm Action Network. Debuted in June, each 15-minute show features a pair of betting experts from Action Network who pick 10 bets in a fantasy sports draft style. Tellingly, ESPN claimed that the launch of I’ll Take That Bet was not rushed, with advanced plans in place to produce the program at least a month before SCOTUS made its historic ruling.
The money-spinning potential of all this media activity is vast and dovetails very neatly with the findings published by the AGA recently which indicated that legal sports betting could net an extra $2.3bn in annual revenue for the NFL alone. When it comes to sports betting the initial wager, it seems, is just the tip of the iceberg with money flowing into the business from advertising, sponsorships and data provision. Already, the cash tills have been ringing with ad spend heading into hundreds of millions of dollars, much of it allegedly from DraftKings and FanDuel. Our prediction? Expect more of the same.
