I’m sure like me, many of you were fascinated to see this morning’s news that ESPN will be launching ESPN Bet following a new agreement with PENN Entertainment.
On the face of it, the opportunity for ESPN is huge, given their vast reach includes around 90% of the current and future betting audience. However, against the backdrop of DraftKings and FanDuel’s prominence in the US market, it will be very interesting to see how they go about convincing users to switch their loyalties.
Marketing excellence and incentives alone will not be enough to convince users to make the switch. The reality is that ESPN Bet will need to become a world-class online sportsbook in its own right, something which is no mean feat to accomplish. This will also need to go hand-in-hand with quality investment on both ESPN Media and ESPN Bet sides to facilitate truly seamless integration.
The risky scenario for ESPN is that if the venture does not gain the necessary traction quickly, the necessary investment will not occur and shareholders and management will lose faith, which will lead towards another loss in the sports betting and sports media convergence race. Success will require huge patience and a willingness to play the long game, something we have seen from the likes of Sky Bet in the past, in order to demand a significant market share.
With the topic of convergence one of the hottest in the industry right now, I can’t wait to take a deep dive alongside our friends at Unofficial Partner next month, at our very own live podcast event. Keep your eyes peeled here and on the LiveScore Group page for more information about this special event and to purchase tickets, follow the link below:
https://lnkd.in/dTFFGG-S
#ESPN #ESPNBet #PENNEntertainment #Convergence #LiveScoreGroup