""When we first announced our partnership with ESPN, both sides made it clear that we expected to compete for a podium position in the space," said Jay Snowden, CEO and President of Penn Entertainment. "Although we made significant progress in improving our product offering and building a cohesive ecosystem with ESPN, we have mutually and amicably agreed to wind down our collaboration.""
"The end of the deal comes shortly after an FBI investigation led to the arrest of Miami Heat player Terry Rozier, who allegedly pulled out of a game claiming injury to deliver a win on one of his prop bets. ESPN's decision is unrelated to the recent news, as the company has been in talks for months with DraftKings about a new partnership."
"In 2023, Penn agreed to pay $1.5 billion in cash over the next 10 years for the rights to use the ESPN name on its app. As part of the deal, ESPN promoted the product across its programming and provided access to on-air talent. ESPN had the right to purchase up to 31.8 million shares of Penn stock for $500 million over the 10-year period."
ESPN is terminating its agreement with Penn Entertainment that granted ESPN equity and allowed Penn to operate the ESPN Bet sportsbook app. The ESPN Bet app will lose the ESPN logo and will operate under a new name. ESPN will partner with DraftKings to supply odds and gaming-related data across ESPN programming and digital platforms, with on-air staff using DraftKings' odds starting Dec. 1. The Penn-operated app failed to meet financial targets in the competitive market that spans 31 states where online gambling is legal. Penn and ESPN agreed to wind down the collaboration amicably.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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