PENN Entertainment and ESPN are looking for meaningful share for ESPN Bet in the hyper-competitive U.S. sports betting market, one dominated by the FanDuel-DraftKings duopoly.

They could do worse than look north, where PENN Entertainment’s Canadian operation is actually making inroads.

As ESPN Bet makes its highly anticipated debut on Tuesday, PENN Entertainment executives said they’re looking to replicate the strategy they’ve deployed with Score Media in Ontario.

Using content from sports media outlet theScore — which the company acquired in 2021 in a $2 billion deal — PENN Entertainment set company records for both gross and net gaming revenue with theScore sports betting operations in October, according to its latest earnings report. The company reportedly holds a No. 2 market share position in Ontario. 

Crucially, 73% of theScore’s total betting handle originates from theScore’s media app, something PENN Entertainment calls a “blueprint” for ESPN Bet.

“We don’t see any of the competitors in Ontario, or in the U.S., that have really focused on this deep integration between sports media and sports betting,” said Jay Snowden, PENN Entertainment CEO. “I think we’ve got it to a point in Ontario where it’s pretty frictionless. You don’t know when you’re in theScore media app and you’re populating a bet slip … and we envision getting there very quickly here in the U.S. with ESPN.”

Different Dynamics, Same Strategy

The dynamic between theScore and ESPN remains somewhat different for PENN Entertainment, as it owns the former company and is only licensing the brand of the latter in their large-scale partnership worth more than $2 billion. 

But Snowden said the operational philosophy remains very much the same, as it carries a goal of as much as 20% U.S. market share for ESPN Bet — a figure 10 times the penetration it achieved in its prior partnership with Barstool Sports.

“What’s really different for us is this deep integration behind the No. 1 sports media brand in the world and those sports who like to bet and want to bet, and the trust factor to do this seamlessly is something we take very seriously,” Snowden said. 

Netflix finally enters the live sports arena on Tuesday — a pivotal moment for the streaming giant, previously one of the more famous holdouts in the space. 

PGA Tour players Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Max Homa, and Collin Morikawa will be paired with Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris, Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, and Pierre Gasly to compete for the Netflix Cup, which begins at 6 p.m. ET live from Las Vegas’ Wynn Golf Club.

Netflix’s app says the event, which will comprise eight holes of match play, will run two-and-a-half hours. The most pressing challenge for Netflix in its live sports debut is making sure the stream goes off without a hitch — something it failed to do earlier this year when it attempted to broadcast a live reunion for one of its dating shows.

Beyond basic functionality, the quality of Netflix’s stream will be of interest as well as the production of the golf event itself.

If the event is a success, Netflix looks ready to dive in even deeper with live sports — the company is reportedly interested in streaming a boxing match involving Jake Paul.

Viewership numbers for the Netflix Cup likely won’t be released, but a similar celebrity golf special earlier this year, “The Match,” drew an average of 782,000 viewers across TNT and two other channels. In that event, Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce took on Golden State Warriors’ Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.

Netflix is reportedly charging potential advertisers $2 million for Tuesday night’s event.

There’s another plot twist in the Manchester United sales saga.

As British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe looks to acquire 25% of the club and take control of soccer operations from the Glazer family, a filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission on Monday shows that Chicago-based Ariel Investments continues to shed its stake in the iconic Premier League Club.

The filing shows that Ariel reduced its position by 831,000 shares, or 13%, during the third quarter of this year. Ariel now holds nearly 5.7 million shares and is the club’s second-largest institutional shareholder behind British investment management company Lindsell Train.

Ariel has been invested in Manchester United for more than two years, and its holding reached 12.3 million shares in March 2022. Soon after, though, it began to reduce its stake, accelerating that strategy last year when the Glazers said they would consider strategic alternatives for the club — including a potential sale or new investment. 

The club recently reported a Premier League-record $783 million in annual revenue. 

No New Stadium

Ratcliffe has ruled out seeking a new stadium for the club — a trend seen in several new facility efforts throughout the Premier League — and will instead look to upgrade 113-year-old Old Trafford.

Ratcliffe intends to spend $300 million of his own money on immediate stadium improvements. He has also said he will not pursue naming rights for the revered facility, saying “that would be heresy. I would not change it. It’s always Old Trafford.”

Ligue 1’s Lyon has secured major funding, a key part of a club reorganization led by American businessman John Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings.

After seeking $315 million from the bond market in September, Textor, Lyon, and club parent OL Group have completed a $342 million refinancing that will help get the team’s troubled debt situation in order.

Set to close by the end of the year, the deal will allow the club to repay the balance of long-term stadium debt, as well as loans taken on during the pandemic and money owed to private parties including the family office of former Lyon majority owner Jean-Michel Aulas. 

Led by Goldman Sachs, the refinancing arrives as Textor is also selling off non-core club assets, including LDLC arena, a new 16,000-seat, multipurpose venue due to be completed later this year that is separate from Lyon’s home stadium, Parc Olympique Lyonnais. 

Lyon is also selling NWSL’s OL Reign, which lost in Saturday’s NWSL Championship match. Major League Soccer’s Seattle Sounders have reportedly had “advanced talks” to acquire the club.

“The affirmation of leading credit rating agencies and the quality of our new investors are a testament to the strength of the OL brand, the improving health of our business, and the strength of our go-forward business plan,” said Textor, who acquired Lyon last year in a $842 million deal.  

There are still competitive issues for Lyon, as the club is currently in last place in Ligue 1 and facing potential relegation.