The May 14 U.S. Supreme Court decision removing the federal ban on sports betting has caused many potential stakeholders in sports wagering to spring into action, but one potential beneficiary of legal sports bets that may not have been on the radar of lawmakers or government officials is just as active—national TV networks.
ESPN and the Action Network were the first to capitalize, launching a new program called I’ll Take That Bet on the ESPN+ streaming platform.
A report in The Sporting News indicates that’s probably only the beginning. Regional sports networks such as SNY in New York also is planning a sports-betting studio show, and Sporting News estimates that national sports cable networks such as Fox Sports 1, NBCSN and CBS Sports Network won’t be far behind—nor will the traditional major television networks.
Sports analyst Danny Sheridan told Sporting News he has already been approached by three different TV networks about contributing or creating content for sports betting shows. The report cites a study by the National Research Group which found that 79 percent of current and potential gamblers said they would watch more sports live if betting were legalized.
“None of (the networks) really know how they want to capitalize on it yet, but there’s a sense of urgency by the networks to cash in on this for ratings and sponsorship money,” Sheridan told the publication. “If they don’t address sports gambling now that it’s legalized, the networks feel they’re going to be left out in the cold. That’s true, and that’s why they’re scrambling.”
