Disney’s Aggressive Move Into Sports Betting

The famed children’s brand Walt Disney is getting into the sports betting business according to chief executive Bob Chapek. In a conference call with investors this week the boss of Disney said the company plans to get “aggressive” in regard to expanding the business in sports betting.

Disney is looking at working with a recognised sports betting company in a licensing agreement possibly using its ESPN broadcasting arm, indeed ESPN and ABC broadcast sports betting during their live broadcasts already for other companies so why not get involved directly.

With Disney holding the rights to broadcast NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, Wimbledon, PGA Tour, and LaLiga with its ESPN and ABC channels it would make a whole lot of sense to maximise their business with sports betting.

Chapek said in the conference call to investors on the subject: “There’s a long way between embedded into the ESPN business model and licensing out,” he said. “Let’s just say that our fans are really interested in sports betting. Let’s say that our partners — with the leagues — are interested in sports betting. So we’re interested in sports betting.”

For a long time Disney fought against gambling indeed it still does in states like Florida but it seems you can’t beat sports betting and so if you cannot beat them join them. With its ready to go TV sports coverage and some 174 million global subscribers of which ESPN has nearly 15 million the only question is who will be the lucky partner.

It’s rumoured that Disney would look at a multiyear deal ranging in the return of $3 billion from any partner they take on, only recently Sports Illustrated formed a partnership with 888 Holdings US arm that sees the gambling firm use the branding of Sports Illustrated to promote sports betting. That deal saw Authentic Branding the parent company of Sports Illustrated take a 4.9% stake in the US gambling Company.

ESPN fires mysterious sports gambling columnist after fraud and extortion allegations surface online

ESPN has unexpectedly ended its relationship with freelance sports gambling columnist Sarah Phillips on Tuesday, just hours after a story surfaced online alleging that Phillips was involved in a fraud and extortion scheme.

Phillips, a self-described hard-core gambler, was hired by ESPN in August of 2011 to write for its Page 2, now known as Playbook, after getting exposure for her work at the gambling site Covers.com.

According to the website Deadspin, no one at either Covers or ESPN ever met Phillips personally, and it is not clear whether ESPN conducted a background check before taking her on as a freelancer.

The report published by Deadspin claims that Phillips and her partner, Nilesh 'Nick' Prasad, received thousands of dollars from two men identified as 'Ben' and 'Matt.' The article also raised the possibility that the name 'Sarah Phillips' may be an alias.

According to the story, 19-year-old 'Ben' was the founder of the Facebook page NBA Memes. Phillips recruited him for a business partnership, promising major returns, but then she and Prasad allegedly scammed 'Ben' into giving them the administrator rights to his page.

Within days, the duo deleted 'Ben's' name from the list of administrators and took over the memes page, turning it into a getaway page to their own site, according to Deadspin.

Deadspin also claims that Prasad misrepresented himself to 'Ben,' falsely claiming that he was the managing director of ESPN.com.

Meanwhile, 'Matt,' a Covers reader in his 30s who corresponded with Phillips, told Deadspin that he began working with the writer on her proposed start-up site and agreed to give her $2,100 to help her buy ad space.

Later, 'Matt' said, Phillips began harassing him and demanding more money. At one point, Phillips allegedly threatened to have the Los Angeles Police Department 'rob' him to recoup $3,000 she said she lost on a bet she placed on 'Matt's' advice.

'I told her I don't carry cash and kept a hunting knife by my bed for three weeks,' 'Matt' told Deadspin.

Phillips' meteoric ascent to online sports reporting stardom has long been raising doubts about her identity and credentials among readers, doubts which were only exacerbated by the wide variety of photos Phillips posted of herself.

According to Deadspin, Phillips used images of other women which she claimed depicted her.
The photo of a blonde woman Phillips used in her Covers debut article has later been identified by some as Ivy Smith, a hairdresser from Eugene, Oregon.

The Ivy Smith MySpace profile shows a girl who went to Sheldon High School in Oregon between 2001 and 2005. However, it appears that the 'real' Phillips also has a link to Oregon.

According to the site the Sports Brewery, Phillips is a 2007 graduate of Sheldon High School, where she played soccer and basketball. Some online reports have suggested that Phillips' alleged accomplice, Prasad, also graduated from the same school, but three years earlier.

The photos of a young Sarah Phillips from Oregon also appear to match the photos that accompany the Sarah Phillips Twitter and ESPN Page 2 profiles.

On Tuesday, after ESPN released a brief statement announcement that it had ended its relationship with Phillips, the woman wrote a series of posts on her Twitter account, saying that she made poor choices and concealed her identity.

Phillips, however, declined to directly address the allegations against her or shed light on her true identity.

'I need to get back to being a 22-year-old,' she wrote.

William Hill signs exclusive betting partnership with ESPN

Bookmaker William Hill has signed a multi-platform deal to become the exclusive sponsor of ESPN’s televised UK coverage of three domestic football leagues in Europe, while also becoming the exclusive UK betting partner for ESPN’s forthcoming mobile app for football news and information site, ESPNsoccernet.

Under the agreement, William Hill will be the exclusive sponsor of ESPN’s televised UK coverage of Italy’s Serie A, the Russian Premier League and the Dutch Eredivisie as part of an integrated, multi-platform affiliation with European football.

William Hill will sponsor all of ESPN’s televised match coverage – live, delayed and highlights – of the three domestic football leagues, with pre- and end-break TV bumpers. The sponsorship also extends to ESPN’s various preview and review TV shows around the leagues.

“Our multi-platform coverage of Europe’s top football leagues is a popular part of the ESPN offering to fans and brands alike,” said Alan Fagan, director advertising sales, ESPN EMEA. “Our agreement with William Hill, one of the UK’s leading brands, reflects how we can deliver value to top-flight advertisers, connecting them with loyal and passionate UK football fans across multiple screens. ESPN has an unrivalled ability to serve advertisers with local precision and solutions in the UK, and in markets around the world.”

William Hill will also be the exclusive UK betting partner for ESPN’s forthcoming mobile app for football news and information site, ESPNsoccernet. As well as display advertising, William Hill will be integrated into the app with a ‘bet now’ button enabling users to place bets on football action as it happens.

“ESPN is one of the leading names in sports media and we’re really looking forward to working with them,” said Kristof Fahy, William Hill’s chief marketing officer. “This multi-platform deal will enable us to promote our brand and services to millions of sports fans across the UK, while our mobile betting partnership with ESPN looks like a real winner.”

Completing the multi-platform deal, William Hill will run display banners and rich-media ads online with ESPNsoccernet.