Sports gambling content isn’t about embracing debate. Sports Gambling content isn’t driven by race or gender inequality. Sports gambling content doesn’t need LaVar Ball, Donald Trump, or other lightning rods to draw in viewers with inflammatory comments. Sports gambling content is built on one fundamental principle that can’t be faked, manipulated, or misinterpreted; it’s about finding winners.
As progressive as sports programming is in 2017, there’s an under served segment of sports viewer; the bettor. Serious sports betting content remains one of the remaining frontiers television executives have yet to tackle in a proper fashion. Every year during the five weeks of relevance heaped on the horse racing industry known as the Triple Crown chase, I’m blown away how seamlessly networks integrate odds and informed gambling discourse into their telecasts. Read the statistics from the American Gaming Association; billions of dollars are wagered on sports annually making betting on games the true American past time – and the bulk of that betting handle isn’t coming in on four-legged competitors.
The way television elects to cover sports gambling has come a long way from my time at FS1 when we became the first major sports network to integrate odds with informed betting dialogue on the channel’s flagship program, Fox Sports Live. Since that fateful day on August 17, 2013, ESPN and other networks have seen the value of point spreads for creating content. You can’t watch a day’s worth of Sportscenter without one full screen graphic displaying a major sports story through the oddsmaker lens (a much more effective way of discussing probability than Nate Silver giving the Celtics a 52% chance to win the Eastern Conference Finals before they started). Whether it’s ESPN Chalk, CBS Sportsline, or the recent VSIN the proliferation of platforms committed entirely to sports content through the gambling prism is working to serve an oft forgotten segment of consumer. That being said, television remains the one medium where the only homage paid to bettors is in marginalized one-off segments lacking creativity or production value.
I understand the stigma that limits the inclusion of gambling in most live telecasts; league resistance. Leagues remained steadfast in their antiquated belief for years that increased gambling exposure somehow negatively impacted the integrity of their game. While the NFL stays committed to their ignorant stance publicly, the league’s willingness to move a franchise into the Mecca of legalized sports gambling shows a tacit endorsement of an activity all of us within the industry know to be harmless. Having provided regular segments with gambling odds pertaining to NASCAR for 3+ years now, I can say with confidence our coverage on Race Hub hasn’t led to a match fixing pandemic in the sport. If sportsbooks were ever concerned about impropriety impacting their matches they would be the first group to alert proper officials knowing a predetermined outcome has negative ramifications to their bottom line. It should come as no surprise that the biggest North American point shaving scandals to mar professional and collegiate athletics the last 50 years took place well outside the State of Nevada. If anything, the Arizona State match fixing fiasco with Benny Silman came to an end as soon as dirty money flooded Las Vegas sportsbooks. From the NBA to MLB and to a lessor extent the NHL, everyone with a brain (no matter how reluctantly) realizes the most loyal group, right behind diehard fans, consistently consuming their product is the sports bettor.
When are you most likely to watch a sporting event?
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) May 20, 2017
However, when it comes to television coverage gambling remains on the periphery treated as a novelty used to fill airtime rather than as a primary driver for new show concepts. The smartest shows in the space need to be built on a foundation of three tenets; education, information, and entertainment. Too often personalities, knowledgeable in sports, attempt to masquerade as gambling soothsayers further perpetuating industry misconceptions. Rather than serving to move the industry forward with credibility it remains stigmatized retarding progress of mainstream acceptance. If analytics found a place in major sports programming years ago to the point they’re accepted without questioning, there’s absolutely no reason why clever gambling segments utilizing the right personalities can’t lead to greater acceptance of an activity taking place on playgrounds, in fraternities, and around offices every single fall weekend.
Properly done sports gambling shows also add another ancillary benefit for networks and sponsors; advertising gold. Live sports currently serve as the primary driver on sports networks because they’re perishable. If games aren’t viewed in real-time they hold limited value to the consumer, meaning watching them as they happen becomes a priority. Naturally, advertising spots during live events hold increased value with spectators unable to gloss over them the same way they can while binge watching their favorite shows on DVR. Just think about a college football gambling show done properly on a Thursday night. The show holds value for 36 hours before it ceases to be relevant. This forces a viewer hell-bent on getting information he or she thinks will help them win into watching the show in a narrow time window.
Sports gambling isn’t going anywhere. The numbers and growth of the industry continue to surge in each passing study. Unwillingness of networks to incorporate wagering information into live telecasts, studio programs, and stand alone programming means millions of dollars are left on the table annually. Whether it’s six weeks, six months, or six years away sports gambling done smartly will provide another revolution in television programming. I’m not sure there’s a Television executive from New York to L.A. that wants to be sitting on the sidelines when consumer demand bubbles over and they’re left scrambling for a solution rather than holding the keys to the kingdom long before the competition.
