DraftKings continues to prioritizing media exposure for national sports broadcasts with another big media deal.
The U.S. gaming giant has signed a landmark multi-year advertising agreement with NBCUniversal that involves integrations and digital sponsorships across the media conglomerate’s sports properties, including NFL and NBA games, English Premier League soccer, golf’s PGA TOUR and Ryder Cup, the WNBA and college football.
As well as those regular sports, the announcement of the deal also named February’s Super Bowl LX and NBA All-Star Weekend and Spanish-language Telemundo coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup next summer as key events for the collaboration.
Terms of the agreement, including financials and its exact length, were not disclosed.
Far beyond sports betting
The announcement regarding the deal did not hold many details, but DraftKings called it one of its largest and most impactful multi-platform partnerships to date.
The operator will now get strong brand visibility and the right to advertise its wares through NBCUniversal’s network. The two groups will also utilize the broadcast network’s talent across the network’s linear, streaming and digital platforms. Essentially, if you watch or read about sports via NBCUniversal, you’ll see and hear DraftKings.
“Together, we will deliver a customer experience that moves at the speed of sports, bringing the thrill of NBA and other top action to life while staying true to our shared passion for innovation, excitement and the unforgettable experiences that live sports inspire,” said DraftKings’ Chief Marketing Officer Stephanie Sherman.
Live betting cited as component of deal
That doesn’t mean there’s no sports betting involved, of course. Sherman specifically noted that the operator’s presence through NBCUniversal’s sports ecosystem will “augment our industry-leading live betting capabilities.”
Like most leading sportsbooks, DraftKings has been scaling up and building out its in-play wagering offering in recent times. Last year, it paid nearly $200 million to acquire the 85% that it did not already own of live betting specialist Simplebet.
“There is no better company to integrate into our unrivaled portfolio of sports properties,” added NBC Sports EVP of Sports and Olympics, Advertising and Partnerships Peter Lazarus. “Combining our excellence in sports entertainment with DraftKings’ industry-leading capabilities will transform the viewer experience just as NBCUniversal prepares to bring an unprecedented slate of sports programming to fans everywhere.”
NBC tries again with new sportsbook partner
DraftKings is already an official sports betting and DFS partner of the NFL, NHL, PGA TOUR, WNBA and UFC, as well as an official sports betting partner of the NBA and an authorized gaming operator of MLB. Its other media partners include Warner Bros. Discovery’s Turner properties and Amazon’s Thursday Night Football. The brand is currently the presenting sponsor of the NFL RedZone broadcast as well.
It previously worked with ESPN, but that deal ended when ESPN Bet hit the market in 2023.
Meanwhile, NBCUniversal has tied itself to a sportsbook before. In 2020, it unveiled a five-year deal with PointsBet projected to be worth nearly $500 million which initially included not only advertising but other aspects such as equity options and affiliate fees.
In early 2023, the two parties renegotiated, lowering the sportsbook’s obligatory ad spend and refocusing on regional networks as PointsBet looked to ensure it was spending efficiently amid increasing losses. Less than four months later, PointsBet announced it was selling its U.S. operations to Fanatics.
