Sports betting has come an awfully long way in the United States in a relatively short amount of time. Since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2018, more than 35 states have decided to legalize wagering on live sports.
Nowadays, sports betting companies are behaving more and more like media companies as they try to expand their brands. That’s certainly the case for DraftKings, as according to Bloomberg the company has announced it is launching a new ad-supported streaming service in the coming weeks.
The service will be free, and feature video versions of podcasts sponsored by DraftKings. The company currently has deals in place with the podcast conglomerate iHeartMedia, as well as Meadowlark Media, a startup founded by former ESPN founder John Skipper and ESPN radio and podcast host Dan Le Batard.
“Over the years DraftKings has expanded our media footprint by securing top talent and trusted personalities across sports media, and we’ve begun the initial rollout of DK Network,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to Bloomberg.
The move to introduce a new betting-focused streaming platform by DraftKings is similar to the launch of FanDuel+. In September 2022, FanDuel confirmed it was rebranding its linear horse racing channel TVG into FanDuel TV, and launching a new streaming platform headed by former “Good Morning Football” anchor Kay Adams and featuring programming from Pat McAfee, among many others. In April, FanDuel announced a licensing deal with Bill Simmons’ sports and culture company The Ringer to bring video versions of its podcasts to FanDuel TV.
Both DraftKings and FanDuel have competition from another source that many would never even think of when considering where to get sports betting content. Amazon’s free streaming service Freevee, which added the SportsGrid channel to its lineup in early February. Betting-themed channels are an excellent way to reach customers in the free ad-supported TV (FAST) space, offering them sports-related content without having the expectation of showing live games on the channel.
DraftKings may be a bit late to the game, but the axiom “better late than never” still holds. Its new streaming platform will be ready in the coming weeks, so while it may not arrive in time for the end of the NBA and NHL playoffs, it will be there for fans as they continue to move through the baseball season and work toward the next NFL and college football seasons.
Freevee
Freevee is a free video streaming service that includes on-demand access to thousands of movies and TV shows. The service also offers 400+ virtual live streaming channels like Dove Channel, CON TV, Docurama, Tastemade, and AMC Presents. Freevee was previously known as IMDb TV.