With support from its parent company, Disney, ESPN will get more involved in sports betting. Just how that plays out is still to be determined, says president Jimmy Pitaro. Disney’s consumer research indicated that the company should capitalize on the sports betting boom.
“It’s something we need to be doing,” he said on The Athletic’s Sports Media podcast. “It’s something that our fans are expecting from us.”
He called it a “must-have” as opposed to a “nice-to-have.”
ESPN has the opportunities “to partner with different folks and be a bit more aggressive in the space,” according to Pitaro. “We think we can potentially be doing more.”
The transition might not be such a jolt, Pitaro said. ESPN has been active in the betting space for some time now. After all, the brand has been in the odds and gaming spaces “for a while now,” according to Pitaro. This includes everything from podcasts to segments on SportsCenter and dedicated sections of their website. They also have studio shows such as Daily Wager.
Brands that operate within the gaming space are familiar with ESPN, too.
The company has a branded studio on the Strip in partnership with Caesars, and owns a 6 percent stake in DraftKings, according to Online Gaming Daily.
The willingness to delve deeper into the arena may lead down the path of accepting bets on its own platform— that means the potential acquisition of a sportsbook could be coming sooner than later.
