Cricket and sports betting came up multiple times during Walt Disney’s earnings call on Thursday. It was a knuckleball for Disney analysts who normally focus on theme parks and movies. They failed to predict the impact of Disney’s newest revenue streams. Disney’s parks can’t operate at full capacity, due to […]
Sports Betting Media
How Sports Got Tangled Up in the GameStop Stock Wars
By now, most people have heard about the recent battle over a videogame retailer’s stock. But, few understand how the GameStop stock saga impacted sports and gaming. An MLB owner, a casino company — and even the Super Bowl — all became part of the drama. It all started with […]
NFL Wild-Card Weekend Ratings Sag Despite Expanded Format
The NFL’s expanded slate on wild-card weekend, with several networks opting to expand their footprint by simultaneously broadcast on alternate networks or streaming, did not yield a ratings bonanza. Instead, overall viewer numbers were down year over year and in some cases were the lowest in five years or more. […]
Entain CEO Segev Bounces for DAZN in Wake of Attempted MGM Takeover
Entain CEO Shay Segev announced he is leaving his post less than a week after the company turned down an $11 billion takeover offer from online betting partner MGM. Segev said he’s headed to digital sports broadcaster DAZN and will join James Rushton there as a co-CEO. Speculation has run […]
College Football Playoff Viewership Remains Strong Even with Pandemic
While the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL have suffered rating sags since the COVID-19 virus touched down in the U.S. last spring, ESPN’s New Year’s Day bowl broadcast numbers remained steady compared with the previous six years of the format, averaging close to 19 million viewers across its pair of […]
ESPN Plus to Feature Betting Commentary for NFL Wild Card ‘MegaCast’
With tech giants like Amazon emerging as players in NFL broadcasting, ESPN is staking its reputation on streaming this weekend with its first-ever NFL “MegaCast.” The idea is to broadcast the Ravens vs. Titans wild-card game at 1:O5 p.m. ET across six Disney-owned networks with different viewer experiences on each. […]
Disney Bets on ESPN Plus Subscribers Paying More for UFC Pay-Per-View
UFC regulars will pay more to watch premiere fights starting Friday, as ESPN Plus will up its pay-per-view rates on select matches. The price increase coincides with parent company Disney’s focus on streaming services and partnerships with sports betting operations. ESPN’s streaming service is the exclusive broadcast home of the […]
ESPN’s Herbstreit Tests Positive for COVID-19, will Work from Home New Year’s Day
Fire up the Zoom, crank up the Keurig, and make sure the mute button’s off. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit will broadcast from home after testing positive for COVID-19 on the eve of college football’s biggest weekend. The network’s college GameDay analyst tweeted Tuesday night that he was diagnosed with the virus […]
ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt Tests Positive for COVID-19, Network Will Fill Time Slot with East and West Coast SportsCenters
ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt revealed Thursday evening he has tested positive for COVID-19. The 54-year-old host of ESPN’s late-night SportsCenter said in a tweet that he would be off the air after testing positive for the virus. Won’t be doing shows for a bit after a positive Covid-19 test. […]
SNL and Timothee Chalamet Clowns Winless New York Jets (Video)
You know things are near rock bottom when “Saturday Night Live” parodies your favorite football team in a sketch. Then again, when you’re known as the LOL Jets, everything you do is a dark comedy. In the latest episode of NBC’s SNL with guest host Timothee Chalamet, the 0-12 New […]
SEC Inks $3 Billion Deal with Disney As California Lawmakers Press To Get Collegiate Athletes Paid
Friday Disney promised $3 billion to the Southeastern Conference for a decade of rights to broadcast the conference’s entire sports catalog on its ABC and ESPN networks. The deal solidifies collegiate sports’ valuation as equal to its professional counterparts. And it comes just days after California state senators Nancy Skinner […]
FOX Looks to Ditch Thursday Night Football to Focus on Sundays and Sports Betting
FOX Corporation, which signed a five-year, $3.2 billion contract to broadcast “Thursday Night Football” two years ago, is looking to bounce out of that deal sooner than later. Since the contract was signed in December, 2018, FOX has had trouble finding an audience for “Thursday Night Football.” Those problems are […]
Bally’s Buys Bet.Works, Forges Sinclair Broadcast Partnership
Bally’s Corporation, formerly Twin River Worldwide Holdings, acquired the sportsbook and iGaming technology company, Bet.Works. But that wasn’t Bally’s only mega-deal this week. Bally’s also announced a strategic partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group, which sent both their stocks soaring. Bally’s recent deals should boost its sports betting profits. At least […]
ESPN Eliminates 500 Jobs, 300 Through Layoffs
ESPN’s financial woes, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, have resulted in a massive layoff of 300 staffers along with the elimination of 200 currently unfilled job openings. The layoffs will be spread throughout the sports cable empire, with on-air personnel being spared initially, according to a memo from ESPN Chairman […]
ESPN Inks Deals with Caesars, DraftKings to Bolster Sports Betting Credentials
ESPN announced Monday that it reached separate, co-exclusive deals with Caesars Entertainment and DraftKings, both of which are designed to expand the sports media giant’s exposure to the sports betting industry. Under the agreements, Caesars will become ESPN’s exclusive odds partner while DraftKings becomes its exclusive daily fantasy sports provider. […]
NBC Announces Multiyear Sports Betting Partnership with PointsBet
NBC Universal became the latest major American media organization to partner with a sports betting operator on Thursday, announcing a multiyear partnership with Australian firm PointsBet. The deal makes PointsBet the official sports betting partner of NBC Sports. NBC Seeks Engagement, PointsBet Looks for Credibility PointsBet launched its US operations […]
Turner and MLB Sign $3.2 Billion Broadcast Deal Amid Restart Turmoil
The 2020 baseball season is still in flux. But that didn’t stop the MLB from nailing down a $3.2 billion deal with Turner Sports. While the price tag is arguably higher, the new deal makes few changes to their existing relationship. There has been a lot of back and forth […]
Sports Bettors Bombard Stock Market, Drive Wall Street Insane
With many sports still in hiatus, sports bettors moved into the next best game in town — the stock market. Galvanized by Barstool Sports’ founder Dave Portnoy, throngs of aggressive novices are driving Wall Street’s institutional investors insane. Between Feb. 19 to March 23, the stock market tanked roughly 34%. […]
Being Heard: Natasha Cloud’s Groundbreaking Converse Deal
Converse has signed Natasha Cloud, the first woman basketball player to endorse its shoes. In doing so, the WNBA Mystics guard follows in the footsteps of some of basketball’s legends — from Chuck Taylor to Julius Erving. But even before the groundbreaking announcement, Cloud made headlines with an important message, […]
ESPN Reportedly Looking for New Monday Night Football Announcers
Changes are apparently coming in the broadcast booth at Monday Night Football, where announcers Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland are not expected to return. Though ESPN has not confirmed the report, several stories over the weekend had the duo being replaced. Rumors about the future of the Monday Night Football […]