Media and Gaming Continue to Converge

Online gaming sites are moving towards a media-focused approach to lower customer acquisition costs and increase engagement. It is the continuation of a broader shift towards focused communities within the media landscape.

This trend has accelerated with online sports betting operators as legalization has created a multi-billion dollar industry almost overnight. In order to capture market share and users quickly, dozens of sports media startups are now "ripe for future acquisitions," as opposed to the more traditional recurring investment that comes with digital advertising.

Axios listed OutKick among potential acquisition targets and discussed this transition away from traditional media coverage to upstarts with a passionate, dedicated, and focused fanbase.

"There are a lot of emerging digital media assets, in the $50-250+ million equity range that are likely acquisition targets of the operators to own more media content and subsequently lower their cost of customer acquisition as opposed to buying advertising," David VanEgmond, Founder & CEO Bettor Capital, said. "Leading operators, in addition to DraftKings, such as FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, WynnBet, PointsBet and more… they're all looking at (media) assets."

This growing market allows for non-traditional content providers, which offer hyper-focused content, to change the landscape of the industry since mainstream outlets must answer to a more generalized audience.

J.D. Crowley, the chief digital officer at Entercom, added that outlets which can offer branded commodities -- like OutKick, founder Clay Travis and his daily airings on Fox Bet -- have another advantage in this expanding marketplace.

"You're seeing a real lane for sport gaming-related content, but it's not just transactional content," Crowley said. "Rather, it's entertainment content that revolves around personalities." 

Sports content companies allow gaming operators to further build out their content capabilities and grow their audience as sports betting legalizes state by state in the U.S. and internationally (Canada recently announced plans for legalization).

Sports betting is currently live with mobile and/or retail in more than two dozen states.

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