By Ryan Bologna
Sports betting content is becoming more prominent by the day. We have seen ESPN greatly expand its betting content and FanDuel create its own cable channel. NBC is the latest to join the party with the hiring of former PointsBet head oddsmaker Jay Croucher. His role will be similar to Doug Kezirian’s at ESPN. Despite that, there are some big strategic differences when it comes to content. Let’s take a deep dive and figure out what these outlets are thinking.
We went into ESPN’s changes before, but here’s a brief summary. Kezirian is being elevated to the sports betting insider role, think Adam Schefter or Adrian Wojnarowski. He will appear across platforms for ESPN as you see with those other insiders. He also will contribute written columns with betting advice for the football season and more. ESPN has gotten a new host for Daily Wager and will be producing content to be consumed in a variety of mediums. Those include podcasts and a Snapchat show. ESPN’s strategy is straightforward, it simply produces a larger volume of betting content across platforms.
NBC’s strategy is very similar, but there are some interesting subtle differences. Croucher’s title will be “lead betting analyst.” The difference is that NBC is going to integrate Croucher into new content that has been created since fantasy expert Matthew Berry was hired. Croucher will join Berry on the “Fantasy Football Happy Hour” and the fantasy football pre-game show. Both will appear on Peacock. Crouche will also be a co-host on a daily podcast called “Bet the Edge” in addition to other responsibilities. Being a former oddsmaker, Croucher gives NBC a unique perspective. The approach of integrating betting and fantasy football content is what makes NBC’s strategy unique.
FanDuel’s cable channel has been greatly-discussed as well. It will aim to create betting content, but not hardcore and analytical like a lot of other content that is out there. FanDuel is likely targeting the casual fan with this approach. With hosts like Pat McAfee and Kay Adams, most would think that there is a good chance for success. FanDuel certainly has the name recognition to pull this off. Compared to ESPN and NBC, FanDuel’s approach is the most out-of-the-box.
Knowing the differences, it will be interesting to see how each of these outlets perform. Will one do overwhelmingly better than the other, or will they all succeed for different reasons? Only time will tell.
Photo Credit: Mia2you
