Sports betting operator ESPN BET’s television show will get its time to shine on the big network.
The media company announced Wednesday that ESPN BET Live will make its debut on ESPN on Aug. 12. The one-hour show will also be live on Aug. 13.
The Worldwide Leader’s sports betting show has only aired on ESPN2 and ESPNEWS since originating in March 2019.
Topics for ESPN BET Live on the big network will include NFL, college football, and other sporting events scheduled for that day.
Monday’s live show will feature Tyler Fulghum, Joe Fortenbaugh, Greg McElroy, and Dan Orlovsky. On Tuesday, Fulghum and Fortenbaugh will be joined by Stanford Steve, and potentially other guests, according to ESPN.
Market competition
Airing the live sports betting show on the main network could provide the sportsbook with a needed boost.
ESPN BET currently operates in 18 states, including Arizona, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
ESPN BET is set to take WynnBet’s place in New York, the most lucrative sports betting U.S. market, this fall.
PENN hopes the big-name brand synonymous with sports makes waves in the market as a real competitor with giants FanDuel and DraftKings.
ESPN BET got off to a good start after launching in Nov. 2023, capturing over 8% of the U.S. market share with plenty of room to grow. However, that market share fell to about 4% in March, according to analysis from Bank of America.
Potential acquisition
The network-change announcement came a day before the ESPN BET-owned PENN Entertainment announced its quarterly results.
There have been major rumblings in the industry about PENN’s sustainability and potential gaming companies, most notably Boyd Gaming, eyeing an acquisition of a gaming company that owns and operates more than 40 casinos.
PENN's relationship with ESPN is believed to be a potential hangup to a sale. The gaming company paid $1.5 billion and other considerations for the rights to use ESPN BET as its online sportsbook platform after PENN parted ways with Barstool Sports.
