Sports media giant ESPN has inked deals with Caesars Entertainment and DraftKings.
The sports media giant ESPN has entered deals with Caesars Entertainment and DraftKings to integrate odds from William Hill and daily fantasy sports information from DraftKings.
ESPN and Caesars Deal
Under the deal with Caesars Entertainment, ESPN will post and link to sports betting odds from William Hill, which is Caesars’ sports betting partner and Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill will become a sponsor of ESPN’s fantasy sports games.
Mike Morrison, vice president of business development and innovation at ESPN, said: “Our new agreements with Caesars and DraftKings collectively represent the next significant milestone for ESPN to diversify our exposure and deepen our commitment in the sports betting space.
“We began growing the experience through content, followed by odds utilizing William Hill’s sports betting data and a new state-of-the-art studio facility in Las Vegas through our deal with Caesars, and now with the addition of DraftKings, we are bringing together the sports media leader with two of the top brands and best products in the segment.”
This deal builds upon the relationship between the sports media giant and Caesars Entertainment after ESPN named Caesars as its official odds data supplier across television and digital in 2019.
Last month, ESPN opened a studio at The LINQ Hotel in Las Vegas in order to bolster its sports betting content. Now that Eldorado Resorts has completed its takeover of Caesars, the new deal means that William Hill’s odds will be displayed on ESPN.
Tom Reeg, chief executive of Caesars Entertainment, said: “Caesars’ relationship with ESPN continues to deepen with the ability to directly link to sportsbooks from our partner, William Hill, from ESPN’s digital platforms.
“ESPN’s unparalleled reach provides a transformational opportunity for sports fans and enthusiasts to engage and wager at their fingertips. This new initiative closely followed the grand opening of the new ESPN Studio with Caesars at the centre of the world-famous Las Vegas Strip.”
William Hill CEO Ulrik Bengtsson said: “ESPN is one of the pre-eminent brands in sports. Tens of millions of fans will now have a direct link to our sports betting apps and odds, Giving ESPN users this access will accelerate our leadership as we continue to expand in the US.”
DraftKings and ESPN
ESPN also entered into an agreement with the sports betting and daily fantasy giant DraftKings, which will see the integration of DraftKings’ information across daily fantasy sports segments on “ESPN’s premier studio shows.”
The deal will see DraftKings become a co-exclusive sportsbook link-out provider and exclusive daily fantasy sports provider of the media giant.
Jason Robins, co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of DraftKings, said: “We are very excited to be expanding our relationship with ESPN to include deeper integration of both our sports betting and daily fantasy sports offerings across their platforms.
“ESPN’s reach among sports fans is unparalleled, and the start of NFL is the perfect time for DraftKings to be launching this integration.”
