ESPN’s VP of sports betting shares the 4 ways he’ll measure success for ESPN Bet and what could give it an edge against the competition

• ESPN and Penn Entertainment launched on November 14 ESPN Bet.
• Business Insider spoke with Mike Morrison, ESPN’s vice president of sports betting and fantasy.
• Morrison explained the keys to success for ESPN and why he thinks the partnership will thrive.

Previously housed within an iconic red square, ESPN’s signature “E” found a new home on November 14 nestled snugly inside a mint green “B.”

In other words, ESPN Bet is now available.

ESPN and Penn Entertainment have launched a new sports betting platform in 17 states across the United States.

The companies announced their collaboration in August, with the operator selling its stake in Barstool Sports in order to rebrand the sportsbook as ESPN Bet.

It’s been a whirlwind: Penn’s president and CEO, Jay Snowden, revealed on November 9 at an ESPN event that talks between the two parties began earlier in 2023. The product is now in the hands of users, three months after an agreement was reached.

Mike Morrison, ESPN’s vice president of sports betting and fantasy, spoke with Business Insider the day after the launch. He explained why he believes ESPN’s power, reach, and brand trust, combined with a suitable partner in Penn, will propel the sportsbook to success.

“We’re starting with an incredible set of assets and understanding of how to support and build a brand,” Morrison went on to say.

The industry is all eyes on the new platform and how it will shake things up. In its first two days, the app was the most downloaded app on Apple in the United States, according to data.ai.

“The entry of ESPN Bet, that will be a story throughout next year and beyond,” Scott Longley, editor of the betting and gaming newsletter Earnings+More, told BI earlier this month. “It’ll be interesting to see what market share they achieve and where they take it from.”

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An inside look into the sports betting partnership

While this is ESPN’s first time licensing its brand to a sportsbook, it isn’t the media company’s first foray into gambling — a partnership with Caesars in 2019 and another with Caesars and DraftKings came before the Penn agreement.

ESPN has been winding down those deals, moving its “Daily Wager” sports betting show from a Caesar’s studio in Las Vegas to ESPN headquarters in September.

Morrison has presided over those discussions and negotiations. However, since the initial discussions between Snowden and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, as well as Morrison’s initial assessments, Penn has proven to be not only the best fit for ESPN’s sports betting goals, but also a great collaborator, according to Morrison.

“It may sound a little cliché, but the fit between the two companies and the way that people work together is rare,” Morrison went on to say. “I haven’t seen it work this well often.”

Penn created and operates the sportsbook, as well as oversees the marketing and promotional strategy, while ESPN has a dedicated team that supports Penn’s vision and has been deploying talent to promote the app.

Morrison attributed the partnership’s success to communication, commitment, responsiveness, and already being on the same page or quickly resolving issues. Morrison claims that various members of the ESPN Bet and Penn teams are starting to “finish each other’s sentences,” as Snowden and Pitaro did at the ESPN event.

Morrison attributes the partnership’s and product’s rapid growth to this synergy.

“I’m impressed and thrilled by how collaborative it’s been, how fast we’ve moved, how effective we’ve moved, and how cohesively we’ve moved,” Morrison said in a statement.

Keys to success for ESPN

Penn stated in its August earnings call that it wants to own 10% to 20% of the US sports-betting market in order to have a successful partnership with ESPN.

However, ESPN’s business is very different from Penn’s, and sports-betting market share will not be the media giant’s primary metric for determining whether the collaboration has been fruitful.

While Morrison stated that ESPN supports Penn’s goals, he also outlined four criteria for determining the partnership’s success:

• Product experience: While there is still much to come in the coming months, how satisfied sports fans are with the product is important to ESPN, according to Morrison. He added that providing easy transitions between the ESPN and ESPN Bet apps is a key focus for driving that metric. It will be similar to how Penn uses its sports-media subsidiary theScore to drive users to TheScore Bet, its Canadian sportsbook.
• Storytelling: According to Morrison, incorporating betting odds into a discussion about the consequences of a major injury can add excitement and insight to ESPN’s coverage. Perfecting how talent and writers can “tell the betting story” seamlessly is “an important pillar,” he says.
• Marketing: As part of the $2 billion deal, Penn will pay ESPN $150 million per year for marketing. ESPN’s role in the partnership is critical in ensuring that it fulfills its end of the bargain by providing the best marketing in the industry. “With Penn’s direction and leadership, we have to get that right,” Morrison went on to say.
• Engaging the ESPN fanbase: Another key area is getting ESPN’s existing users onto the sportsbook — Morrison said the company will tap into its databases of people who already use the company’s fantasy-sports platforms or have opted into betting messages.

Why Morrison thinks ESPN Bet will thrive

Penn’s previous Barstool Sportsbook app is one of several media-led sportsbook brands that have failed to capture meaningful market share in the United States — Fox Bet, Fubo Sportsbook, and Maxim Bet have all closed, while SI Sportsbook and Yahoo Sportsbook are surviving but not thriving.

Aside from his belief in Penn and the partnership, Morrison believes that no one does marketing and branding better than the Walt Disney Company.

“Right out of the gate we’re delivering the highest-quality look and feel and experience,” Morrison went on to say. “Then when you support that with how it’s marketed and how it’s promoted in a consistent way and in a unified way, I think that has impact.”

Morrison believes the ESPN platform’s power and reach, particularly in marketing and social media, could propel the sportsbook.

Morrison cited ESPN’s long history of iconic promotion (for example, the “This is SportCenter” campaign) and stated that ESPN Bet will leverage the company’s already beloved, distinct, and authentic marketing style.

ESPN rebranded the social media accounts for “SportsNation,” a former show with a large social following, as ESPN Bet, giving the sportsbook an immediate boost in followers.

This account will soon be focusing on fantasy and sports betting content. We will continue to be entertaining and fun in order to improve your fan experience while promoting responsible gaming habits. We hope you will stay!— November 10, 2023, ESPN BET (@ESPNBet)

ESPN Bet now has 5.4 million followers on X, 2.7 million on Facebook, and 2.4 million on Instagram as a result of the move.

DraftKings and FanDuel, on the other hand, each have fewer than 375,000 followers on their respective platforms.

Another reason Morrison believes the new venture will succeed is that ESPN used a similar model with fantasy sports.

ESPN Bet’s key efforts — product experience, content integration, promotion, and tapping into existing users — all leveraged ESPN’s existing power and brand trust to establish a leading fantasy sports platform, according to Morrison. The sportsbook will try to replicate the same formula.

“We’re in a position to significantly impact this marketplace with great assets that people have come to depend on,” Morrison went on to say.