Disney exploring ESPN sports betting potential
Disney CEO Bob Chapek has said that Disney’s ESPN is “seriously considering getting into betting in a bigger way”.
US.- Disney CEO Bob Chapek has said that the group’s sports broadcasting brand ESPN would expand into the sports betting market.
He said the platform is the “perfect” place for sports betting and that it represented a “very significant opportunity” for the sector.
Speaking at Disney’s Q4 results call, Chapek said: “And given our reach and scale, we have the potential to partner with third parties in this space in a very meaningful way.
“Suffice it to say, we continue to see enormous opportunity in sports and all of this, the rights deals, our innovative programming, and the flexibility achieved through our DTC business, which saw ESPN+ subscribers increased by 66 per cent over the past fiscal year alone.”
ESPN has already entered into multi-year agreements with Caesars Entertainment and DraftKings, which include co-exclusive link integrations across ESPN digital platforms to connect to sportsbooks from Caesars’ William Hill and DraftKings.
However, Chapek said Disney had done “substantial research” on the industry with an eye on further opportunities.
He said: “We do believe that sports betting is a very significant opportunity for the company. And it’s all driven by the consumer.
“It’s driven by the consumer, particularly the younger consumer that will replenish the sports fans over time and their desire to have gambling as part of their sports experience.
“It’s not necessarily a lean-back. It’s a little bit of a lean-forward-type experience that they’re looking for. And as we follow the consumer, we necessarily have to seriously consider getting into gambling in a bigger way. And ESPN is a perfect platform for this.”
Chapek added: “We have done substantial research in terms of the impact to not only the ESPN brand but the Disney brand in terms of consumers’ changing perceptions of the acceptability of gambling. And what we’re finding is that there is a very significant installation. Gambling does not have the cache now that it had, say, 10 or 20 years ago.
“And we have some concerns as a company about our ability to get in it without having a brand withdrawal. But I can tell you that given all the research that we’ve done recently that that is not the case. It actually strengthens the brand of ESPN when you have a betting component, and it has no impact on the Disney brand.
“Therefore, to go after that demographic opportunity plus the, of course, not insignificant revenue implications, that is something that we’re keenly interested in and are pursuing aggressively.”
