ESPN Boss Jimmy Pitaro Says Sportsbook Deal Not Happening Soon
ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said the sports media goliath remains interested inward the sports wagering industry, but it won’t follow announcing a related to trade anytime soon.
Pitaro’s comments, which were made at the Sports Business Journal conference inward New House of York on Wednesday, switch inhuman H2O on long-running hopes that the “worldwide leader inwards sports” was shut to announcing a partnership with DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG).
Pitaro noted that ESPN has been in talks with “all the usual suspects” regarding the network’s course forward inwards sports wagering, and reiterated the gunpoint that the program entity will not control a sportsbook.
We’re non going to take people’s money. We are not sledding to readiness lines and spreads and odds. It’s not what we do. But the idea of leaning inward a chip to a greater extent here and creating a to a greater extent seamless have is something that’s definitely on the table,” Pitaro said at the conference.
ESPN is a building block of Walt Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS). Currently, the sports program behemoth has agreements with DraftKings and Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR). Some industry observers believe Caesars, inward an effort to cut back sports betting spending, would happily be bought out of its ESPN accord if Walt Disney makes an fair to middling offer.
Iger Needs to Be Brought Up to Speed
Pitaro’s comments at the conference follow scarce to a greater extent than a calendar week after Bob Iger returned to the helm of Disney, removing Bob Chapek from the chief executive officer role.
Iger left the role in 2020 and inwards the two-plus years since he’s been gone, the regulated sports wagering industry rapidly evolved. While Iger wasn’t overtly opposed to ESPN existence involved with sports betting, Chapek was more vocal around it, and recently teased a major announcement to that gist — ane that didn’t arrive.
Given that Iger is scarcely more than a week into the chore and that Walter Elias Disney has other issues to sell with, Pitaro noted he needs to let his hirer upwardly to speed on the ever-changing sports betting landscape. Pitaro added he’ll be presenting Iger with a broader ESPN update at a encounter on Thursday.
“We experience a real serious relationship. I swear him. I feel the likes of he trusts me. But to the highest degree important, firm forrard to today inwards terms of sounding through and through the sports lens, he’s simply got great sports instincts. He really understands this industry,” Pitaro said.
ESPN Spinoff Decision Rests with Iger
In August, Third Point father Daniel Loeb pushed Disney to weigh spinning cancelled ESPN, arguing that it could amend have vantage of the sports wagering opportunity mark as a standalone entity. The evade monetary fund manager changed his mind nearly the spinoff a month later.
Pitaro noted that any conclusion to separate the sports electronic network from the parent keep company rests with Iger. The ESPN hirer highlighted the benefits of the network remaining portion of Disney, including crossover programing and marketing opportunities tied to the popular ESPN+ and Disney+ streaming services.
Pitaro added that the sports betting audience is “very attractive” to ESPN because that demographic is usually devoted to watching sports and has higher levels of disposable income.
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