"Instead, Disney is replacing Penn Entertainment, the regional gambling company it teamed up with to launch "ESPN Bet," with DraftKings, one of the two dominant sports-betting companies. In practice, that means that starting next month, ESPN will direct viewers who want to bet on sports to DraftKings, instead of the ESPN-branded app that Penn operated. Disney says ESPN Bet will live on as a "content brand," meaning a TV show and "social and digital channels.""
"The fact that the Penn-ESPN partnership wasn't working has been obvious for months. That's why I asked ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro about it in August. Back then, he noted that both companies could end their deal next summer but hoped ESPN's new app and streaming service would boost things. "Let's see if we can improve market share with this launch," he told me. "And we will evaluate things at the end of football season.""
Disney launched ESPN Bet with Penn Entertainment but is ending that operating partnership less than a year later and shifting wagering referrals to DraftKings. Starting next month, ESPN will direct viewers who want to bet to DraftKings instead of the ESPN-branded app Penn operated. ESPN Bet will continue as a content brand across TV, social and digital channels. The Penn-ESPN partnership failed to gain market share despite ESPN's brand recognition. Penn previously sought bettors by partnering with Barstool and ESPN. ESPN had long avoided gambling because of concerns about linking the Disney name to betting.
Read at Business Insider
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