Penn Entertainment’s Barstool Sportsbook online app becomes ESPN Bet in the fall under a $2 billion deal. ESPN is getting $1.5 billion in cash over 10-year deal, plus warrants worth around $500 million for purchasing Penn shares.
“We believe there’s an opportunity to significantly grow engagement across ESPN consumers, particularly young consumers,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said Wednesday, via FrontOfficeSports.com. “And why PENN? Because PENN stepped up in a very aggressive way and made an offer to us that was better than any of the competitive offers — by far.”
Iger also said that Disney continues to look for a strategic partner in the operation of ESPN.
Now will we see an end to Drafkings and FanDuel ads on ESPN?
Sidenote: I am so old I remember when having major sports teams in Las Vegas was a no-go and James Snyder Sr. aka “Jimmy the Greek”, required NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle to tell CBS it was acceptable to have him on The NFL Today back in the 70s and 80s. See back then the NFL was adamant about not having any official connections between gambling and the league. Those were the days.
