DraftKings is partnering with iHeartMedia on a deal that will turn the sports betting giant into the company’s official odds provider. It’s another huge partnership win for DraftKings and an opportunity to widen their US footprint even wider.
Under the terms of the deal DraftKings will be the official odds provider for iHeart’s vast network of content creators, including podcasts and radio programming. That part of the deal alone puts DraftKings in front of a very huge audience; but it’s only part of the arrangement.
While DraftKings is keeping those lines updated, the company’s marketing and advertising teams will be accessing iHeart’s SmartAudio suite of data-driven advertising products. SmartAudio’s data-driven applications help make optimizing advertising to target audiences a whole lot easier than it would normally be. With data on 270 million listeners, that’s another huge opportunity for DraftKings to grab new players in new markets.
In a recent press release, Matt Kalish, co-founder and President, DraftKings North America explained the deal’s value to his employer saying, “Customer engagement remains a primary focus for DraftKings, and this latest agreement with iHeartMedia amplifies our reach immensely to a dedicated audience that spans more than 160 markets across the country with the largest audio company in the U.S. Analytically tapping into iHeart’s coveted listener base while powering authentic betting content is a landmark moment for both organizations and precursor to new possibilities in media innovation.”
Greg Ashlock, CEO of iHeartMedia’s Multiplatform Group touted the partnership as a way of building on an already successful content empire saying, “Even though we are number one in audio sports programming, we continue to build new sports content and DraftKings is an ideal partner as we expand and innovate. DraftKings is a premier sports technology and entertainment company that provides millions of customers with the best in real-money gaming products along with exceptional safety and security through various responsible gaming measures. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership everywhere sports betting is permissible.”
Though company officials did not provide details as to how long the partnership might last, all parties involved described it as a “multi-year deal.”