Musburger Media announced Monday that it has repurchased VSiN, a sports betting network based in Nevada, from DraftKings for an undisclosed amount.
Brian Musburger and Bill Adee, original founders of the Vegas Stats and Information Network, will take over at the helm now that the network is independent of DraftKings again. Musburger is the nephew of legendary broadcaster and renowned gambler Brent Musburger.
“While a lot has changed in the sports betting industry over the past three-and-a-half years, our original vision for VSiN still holds and we are committed to delivering the most credible, independent information and analysis sports bettors can find anywhere,” Musburger said in a press release.
“We truly appreciate the work we've done with DraftKings and look forward to continuing to collaborate on future projects. Bill and I couldn’t be more excited about leading VSiN into the future and cementing our position as a trusted authority in sports betting.”
Deja vu
A major sports betting operator buying a media company and then selling it back to its original figureheads a few years later seems to be trendy in the legal sports betting industry.
PENN made a big splash when it acquired Barstool Sports for an eye-popping sum of money, only to make an even bigger splash in selling it back to Barstool founder Dave Portnoy for … $1.
The vision is pretty clear: Legal sports betting is rapidly expanding across the United States in parallel with the continued rise of digital content consumption, so marrying a sportsbook with a content provider should be a match made in heaven, right?
That’s probably along the lines of what DraftKings was thinking when it acquired VSiN for a reported $70 million in 2021.
Now, the original founders are taking back their platform.
Deja vu, just with different characters?
Here’s where the worlds meet.
DraftKings and Barstool announced what Portnoy called a “multi-year monster deal” less than an hour after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII, minting the DraftKings as the exclusive online sports betting partner for Barstool.
Barstool’s channels have exposure to over 200 million fans, so this is a monster marketing play for DraftKings, indeed.
Perhaps that is why the Boston-based sports betting giant divested in VSiN just over three years after it originally acquired it.
“DraftKings continues to optimize its investments in content and media to align with the most critical areas and needs of our business strategy, objectives, and goals," said Stephanie Sherman, DraftKings’ chief marketing officer. "We want to thank Brian, Bill, and the entire team at VSiN for a great relationship, and we look forward to continuing to advertise on the network.”
That suggests DraftKings’ intention to continue leveraging VSiN’s original content, which is accessible on such networks as YouTube TV, Rogers’ Sportsnet, and NESN, as well as more than 300 terrestrial radio stations.
VSiN’s studio is located in the sportsbook at Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
