When it comes to the media, they say ‘everybody’s a critic,’ but when it comes to media outlets lately, it seems everybody actually wants to be a sportsbook. Sports betting is now live and legal in over two thirds of the 50 states, and the companies who televise, stream and distribute those sports want to be part of the conversation. Though financial reports throughout 2023 have shown that FanDuel and DraftKings hold most of the market share when it comes to sports wagering in the US, this has not stopped many other tenacious operators, including media companies, from throwing their own baseball caps into the ring.
Betting and media have created global partnerships and acquisitions over the last few years, and now the trend could be at the top of its game. Virgin Bet launched in 2019, and now operates as part of the LiveScore Group. DraftKings acquired broadcast company Vegas Sports Information Network (VSiN) in 2021. TalkSport Bet launched in 2022, as the popular UK andIreland radio station moved into betting. Entain acquired online sports media platform 365Scores in April this year. In August, Football.com announced a new purposeful combination of betting and media surrounding its namesake sport. But the biggest news this autumn was that sports media giant, ESPN, branched out to offering bets by teaming up with Penn Entertainment (after a few years of anticipation).
But for every new entry into the market, there are also cautionary tales. Flutter Entertainment announced the close of Fox Bet just a month earlier in July 2023; Fanatics Betting & Gaming purchased PointsBet’s US Operations in June after it announced a struggle to gain market share in April; and Fubo Sportsbook ceased operations in October 2022, with MaximBet following suitone month later. Meanwhile, 888’s Sports Illustrated venture also struggles to gain traction. With sports and media growing ever closer to each other, Gambling Insider spoke to four industry executives to see where the competition truly lies. How have the games we love, the ways we watch them, and the ways we bet on the action converged over time to make sports media and sports betting so intertwined?
In medias res
Kevin Grigsby, Executive Producer and SVP of TV for FanDuel TV, is all-too-familiar with the way in which sports media and sports betting have merged to create a lucrative fusion. All the convincing anyone needs is to hear or see the words ‘FanDuel’ and ‘TV’ next to each other, and it’s immediately obvious that sports fans are now in the midst of a new era, based on betting-driven content. Grigsby told Gambling Insider: “FanDuel TV is a perfect example of that convergence. The sports media content we produce allows us to grab the attention of betting customers that paid marketing makes it difficult to replicate, and in a hyper-competitive industry, that is a massive advantage.”
Patrick Mostboeck, SVP Audiovisual for Sportradar noted, both FanDuel and DraftKings had expanded their AV offerings, as well as mentioned DAZN launching its own sportsbook, not just ESPN. He said this convergence between betting and media over the years has been natural: “In the fight for fan engagement, providing platforms where fans can both watch and bet hasbecome the next logical step.” Sportradar, which uses technology and data for both engagement and integrity, also provided some research confirming the natural shift toward betting from today’s sports fan. “According to Global Web Index’s 2019 Sports Around the World report, 97% of legal sports bettors watch more live sporting events than those who do not bet; and accordingto American Gaming Association (AGA) research, nine out of 10 viewers are more likely to watch a sporting even if they placed a bet on it.”
The potential efficiency of acquiring customers based on their viewing habits was also mentioned by Scott Butera, the current CEO of Sports Information Group, Daily Racing Form and previous President of Fubo Gaming. He said: “Understanding how much an individual is watching sports is a pretty good indicator of their likelihood to be betting.” To Butera, three or four hours ofdaily sports viewership shows a possibility that a fan is watching multiple teams play multiple games, and makes that fan 30% more likely to bet, while five hours increases that chance to 50%. Though studying fan patterns seems to be both possible and encouraged, reaching the ‘right’ fans still proves difficult within the States. Butera continued: “The cost of running a sportsbetting operation in the US is significant. In terms of being a media company wanting to take that on, it might be a bit daunting; but in terms of the actual relationship between viewing sports and betting on sports, that’s very strong.” The competition and saturation within the market, as well as the individual state licensing and regulation required, can put a heavy burden on mediacompanies simply looking to drive their engagement and get in the game – but more on that later.
While convergence seems to be undeniable between sports media and sports betting, with more content, channels, campaigns, partnerships and sportsbooks saturating the US market everywhere we look, some feel as if initial opportunities have been missed. Sam Sadi, CEO of LiveScore Group, said this evident convergence has been “in general, very poorly executed despite all the efforts and a strong conviction around its potential.” The reasoning behind why the executive believes this convergence isn’t serving the industry is twofold. According to Sadi, the imperfect union of betting and media has been “pursued by separate companies with misaligned or conflicting goals,” and suffered from a “lack of understanding of the fans’ expectations of value.”
This time of discovery within the expanding US sports betting market has the opportunity to make or break a sportsbook if the secrets behind understanding and catering to fans’ desires can be unlocked. But how big do operators need to think to capitalise on the fans they already have and ultimately grow their fanbase with competitive new offerings?
Kevin Grigsby, Executive Producer and SVP of TV for FanDuel TV
Streamlining the experience
Fan value and fan experience both come in many forms. For the sports fan watching hours of programming and several games a day, that experience might take place on multiple devices at once. It’s not hard to envision a group of fans cheering during a game at their favourite local sports bar while simultaneously checking the scores of other games on their phones. A fan watching a game on their laptop may have several tabs open, including their sportsbook of choice, as well as any social media accounts held by the team, the players or the sportsbook itself.
Butera said it’s important to have “a really strong product that allows you to synchronise the streaming and betting experience in a way that is very attentive to individual customer desires and wants.” Mostboeck calls a platform able to integrate with multiple devices “essential.” Apart from following a bettor’s individual watching habits and trends, betting is a time-sensitive activity where latency and lag are an important part of the conversation surrounding mobile sportsbooks. Mostboeck adds: “Anydelay or failure to deliver updates can massively impact the customer experience. Bettors expect the same features and functionality across devices and channels. In the competitiveness of our industry, any flaw in an operator’s platform provides an opportunity for rivals to gain the upper hand and sway customers.”
That competition must be noted, again, as something that applies to both sports betting and sports media. Streaming content must also be optimised for the perfect omnichannel experience for delivering content no matter where the viewer wants to access it. FanDuel TV has also already launched its own OTT platform, FanDuel TV+, in addition to hosting live web streaming and integrating its stream into the FanDuel sportsbook app. The company also plans to introduce a FAST channel. Grigsby said: “We want our viewers to be able to easily watch the bet they placed with us from wherever they are.” A new streaming service, just as much as a new sportsbook, would have to offer something truly unique to stand out and draw new customers to makethe switch away from names with as much market recognition as ESPN or FanDuel.
Scott Butera, CEO of Sports Information Group, Daily Racing Form and previous President of Fubo Gaming
Live action
One of those underrated selling points seems to be offering live and in-play betting options. Grigsby, Sadi and Mostboeck all referred to these markets as either important or in demand. Sadi commented that the trend toward offering live and in-play bets is responsive, saying: “Those outside of our industry often underestimate how much consumer research goes behind productdevelopment. The clear reason why so much investment is being directed towards improving in-play and live products is that we see strong demand from our users.” Grigsby says live bets allow viewers to stay engaged with FanDuel’s product “throughout its entirety.” He said, “FanDuel TV is heavily investing in watch-and-wager content with live betting data and data visualisation.” Grigsby added that it’s not only valuable to the fans looking for this content, but from an operator’s perspective as well, saying live markets are “proving to be a valuable business model that generate more revenue per viewer.”
For fans, the ability to watch and bet on a single platform can make the betting experience far more engaging and convenient, as it means they do not have to go elsewhere for live action or to place a bet
Patrick Mostboeck
Mostboeck, acutely aware of how much both bettors and operators love sports data, said: “Sportradar offers more than 200 in-play markets on a single soccer match and provides the marketplace with more than 25,000 betting opportunities in soccer each month, which gives you an idea of the size of the opportunity.” Noting that the technology behind in-play betting is ever-advancing, Mostboeck is counting on both enhanced fan engagement and experience in future, due to the use of AI and the accessibility of real-time information. The greater availability of mobile phones will also influence operators and their platforms greatly. Mostboeck added: “Prioritising mobile readiness is vital for business growth, as mobile betting drives the highest growth and expansion across key markets.”
Sam Sadi, CEO of LiveScore Group
Pros and content
Wherever a media focus lies, a swift desire for varied and frequent content follows, often with a celebrity host. FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook and many other US sports betting platforms offer livestreaming of sporting events alongside their own original content via either a collaboration with broadcast television, a proprietary OTT platform, online streaming, in-house podcasts, a company YouTube channel or even TikTok and Instagram videos. Both current and former athletes appear in the promotional images and on the mics for various shows, such as DraftKings Network’s “Gojo and Golic” with Mike Golic Sr and Mike Golic Jr; FanDuel TV’s “Run it Back” with Chandler Parsons; and BetMGM’s World Cup 2022 series of YouTube videos featuring Tim Howard. The entire existence of Jake Paul as a concurrent YouTuber, boxer and co-founder of sports wagering platform, Betr, also ties a neat bow around the theory of convergence in these areas.
For Grigsby, FanDuel TV aims to “purposely interweave betting narratives into all programming.” He added that FanDuel TV’s “gambling-centric lower screen ticker, displaying FanDuel odds, is a constant mainstay which has led to distribution in restaurants and bars.” The company has also thought about the social media applications of the FanDuel TV experience, stating that short-form “Action Updates” are “purposely produced and index very well on social media and digital platforms, such as the FanDuel Sportsbook Explore tab.” Butera, meanwhile, thinks betting content within media is “pretty prolific” now, but that we should still expect more to come. “In broadcasts, they’re talking about it a lot and it’s really kind of exploded – both visually andthrough radio, podcasts, all kinds of media: people are using betting lines as analytics to understand games.”
The trend toward multi-platform and omnichannel experiences has also created more types of data and more ways to integrate this data with both the sporting events and the media content that covers them. Mostboeck commented: “By providing fans with greater portfolios of live-streamed content, more ways to access live sports, and more compelling sports insights and data, betting companies are transforming their businesses into ‘one-stop-shops’ for live sports entertainment.” Sportradar offers a tool called EmBet, which provides live odds and statistical overlays, aiming to create more “holistic” fan involvement as well as customer loyalty.
Though some sports fanatics are after more data to help them make their wagering decisions, rather than the opinion or commentary from a celebrity host, in the end it all serves the same purpose: helping a fan become loyal to a particular betting operator, based on media preferences and needs. Mostboeck added, “For fans, the ability to watch and bet on a single platformcan make the betting experience far more engaging and convenient, as it means they do not have to go elsewhere for live action or to place a bet. This is massively beneficial as studies have shown that 90% of viewers currently use a second screen when watching live sport.”
But how can sports fans who began their watching journey with ESPN, and their betting journey with an unrelated sportsbook app, either choose between the two, or make sure their games and bets exist in perfect harmony? Are customers swayed by the call of convenience that a ‘one app to rule them all’ situation could potentially offer? Butera said it could “certainly happen.” Hecontinued, speaking first from an operator’s point of view and then from a fan’s: “If you can create a competitive enough product, or if you have a competitive enough partner, you should be able to overcome that. If you thought the company was very adept at both, you would just stay on one platform for the offers you could have.”
Patrick Mostboeck, SVP Audiovisual for Sportradar
Healthy competition
So far, the US has seen not only a rise in the convergence of sports media and sports betting, but also a few high-profile exits from this new double-industry. As mentioned earlier, PointsBet sold its US operations to competitor, Fanatics Betting and Gaming for $225m, after a brief bidding war with DraftKings, which also offered $195m before Fanatics’ winning counter offer.Fox Bet announced that it would stop taking bets in July this year, and was offline by the end of August. Butera’s own previous experience at Fubo Gaming and Fubo Sportsbook also came to an end in 2022, after Fubo TV announced that the betting divisions would close following a strategic review.
When asked whether there is a drawback to the aforementioned conundrum of watching sports on one platform and betting on another, Butera said: “But that’s just competition, right?” Butera spoke of his previous ideas, as well as what sports streaming companies could do now to build on the possibilities for betting integration in the future. “When we were at Fubo, our TV broadcast was actually synced to our sportsbook, so I could be watching a game and be getting offers on my sports betting app as I’m watching it. If I were to change the channel, the app would go to that new game. There are a lot of things you can do, that are very fast. If it’s a streaming company, you could offer, free streaming for certain-level players. If you have a quality product through synchronisation, you can be very effective more broadly.”
This competitive US market, which has caused a few sportsbooks to ‘bet’ off more than they can chew, likely comes down to how much it takes to both fund and regulate a sports betting operation in such a large market with different needs, policies and demographics. Sadi said of what could have happened at Fox Bet, Fubo Gaming and PointsBet: “It’s hard to provide a single answer for three entities, except that all three, together with many analysts covering the opening of the US sports betting industry, underestimated how challenging the unit economics of growth would be and the amount of capital it would take them to reach long-term profitability.”
But how did the US sports betting market, which only began offering wagers after the overturning of PASPA in 2018, become so oversaturated so quickly? Sadi agrees: “The US market has already become the world’s largest regulated online market so you could certainly argue the growth has been spectacular.” Mostboeck, however, maintains that at its core, the US is “still ayoung and less mature betting territory.” He commented that both new and current US sportsbook operators must pay attention to the variance within: state regulation, individual state markets and individual player preferences. He said operators should “understand the local betting laws across the country and adjust their offerings accordingly to ensure they meet the licensing and compliance requirements of each jurisdiction.” He added that acquiring customers has also “posed a significant challenge, with operators fiercely competing to entice sign ups, which can prove costly and unsustainable, with an overreliance on first-time deposit bonuses and free bets resulting in less customer loyalty in the longer term.”
A converging conclusion
While the convergence of sports betting and sports media may be obvious, what the future holds for the nature of the two seems less so. As more states legalise and launch sports betting, more operators may want a piece of the action. But at what cost? It’s been proven that the US certainly has the demand for sports betting, but how many sportsbooks are necessary to supply it? Will every active sportsbook have the capital, the content and the customers to keep going? As tough as the challenge may be, all of the executives Gambling Insider spoke to have some hope for the future of sports, media and their natural intersection. Sadi said, though initially there wasn’t “sufficient effort made in the early days to understand the market, which resulted in unrealistic and severely flawed strategies,” this era of sportsbook fumbles may be behind us. “Such periods are usually followed bycorrection, and then stability – a phase I believe we are now entering.”
