What Will Future of Sports Betting Media Look Like?

Or, is There Even a Future for Sports Betting Media?

You probably have some ideas on this topic. Sports fans have opinions on everything! If I asked you about the future of sports betting media, you’d have something to say.

But, what if I asked you “What will the future of ‘slot machine media’ look like?” You might think I was crazy. What the bleep is slot machine media? Nobody watches broadcasts about slot machines. Or listens to podcasts about slot machines. People either have fun playing slot machines…or they DON’T and don’t bother. There’s no media about slot machines.

Are there really any serious differences between sports betting and slot machines in terms of how consumers use them? Different types of people chasing a thrill. Slot machine enthusiasts seem more interested in the thrill of hitting a jackpot (or, several incremental jackpots that don’t make up for all the money lost chasing). Sports bettors seem more interested in experiencing an “I TOLD YOU THAT WOULD HAPPEN” master-of-the-universe thrill. Though, there are also jackpot chasers that focus on parlays and contests.

But…the main point…it’s all about the DOING rather than about watching or listening to jibber-jabber about the doing. The act itself is the entertainment.

When sports betting media first got rolling a few years ago…with growing legalization running parallel to the onslaught of fantasy football advertising…it was assumed that we’d see a natural outgrowth of existing sports media that might be even more exciting. Sportsradio…AND it talks about sports betting! “Around the Horn,” AND, NOW points are awarded for making smart bets! Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon pardon interruptions about each other’s picks.

That didn’t happen. It may not be possible for it to actually happen, ever, given various dynamics in play.

*Betting is more fun than listening to other people jibber-jabber about their bets. People discovered this dynamic early in fantasy football. They could talk for hours about their own team…but didn’t have much patience for listening to other people talk about their teams. You’ve probably experienced this yourself from at least one end of that spectrum.

*The main element bettors WOULD want from programming is having personalities provide enough winners to make money. But, that’s not really a thing that exists long term. Most on-air types…hosts or “experts,” are going to hit around 50-52% of their picks at volume, which isn’t enough to beat the 52.4% required from 11/10 vigorish. I think that’s more widely understood now than it was six years ago. You can’t just ask Terry Bradshaw or Charles Barkley or some guy at the MLB Network to come on every day and pick a lot more winners than losers. Everyone will blow hot and cold in short spurts. Very unlikely that any of them would have a long term record of profit. (So, it’s jibber-jabber and doesn’t win anyway!)

*If viewers can’t have daily winners, they’d still want somebody who might have the knack to isolate BIG PLAYS or virtual locks that can be backed with confidence. Different version of the same fantasy. Betting markets are too good to have many glaring errors that some loudmouth (and, it’s only loudmouths who think and talk this way) will almost always be right about. Hardly anyone even tries that any more because they don’t like getting embarrassed by “Freezing Cold Takes” and the like.

*First companies into the broadcasting mix were SUPER-FOCUSED on hyping themselves rather than “serving an audience.” Even when investors, property owners, management, oddsmakers, hosts, are great guys (or girls), programming that constantly gushes about how great everyone is doesn’t serve as entertainment. A show that has a lot of “this guy…I LOVE this guy…what a great guy,” isn’t going to find or sustain an audience. If the people in charge of slot machines were great, players aren’t going to watch programming about it. That’s irrelevant to what makes slot machines fun. Betting is the fun thing. Betting is the entertainment. Watching employees gush about their bosses is not.

VSiN devolved at one point to frequently having a hotel barber give out hockey picks. Everybody loves (still loves) Uncle Brent. But, the audience eventually realized he didn’t have much to say beyond enthusiastically raving about various people connected to VSiN’s investment entities and their properties.  The promise of a sports betting version of “The NFL Today” turned into daily in-house promotional videos.

*Even now, many media members are more focused on “building their own brand” and/or networking with others in the same boat. Have you ever noticed that, across the full spectrum of sports betting media and podcasts, it’s the same few dozen people all interviewing each other over and over again…on each other’s shows? That’s not “how do I serve an audience?” That’s “I have a show…you have a show…I’ll have you on my show and then you can have me on your show.” Speed dating for jibber jabber, hoping it leads to continuing endeavors as a jibber-jabberer.

There are a lot of great people in the field that I’ve met, and am rooting for. (And, many I haven’t actually met but am rooting for). But, I’m very concerned that there really isn’t a future for sports betting programming…just as there’s no present or future for slot machine programming. What the audience mostly wants, it can’t have. And, nobody’s really trying to “serve” an audience anyway, beyond convincing themselves that “me, telling people who I like, is serving an audience.”

What might a workable future look like, given those hurdles?

*Focus on SERVING THE AUDIENCE rather than promoting the money behind the entity. Use commercials to promote. Use content to serve.

*Have hosts and guests accept that “me, telling people who I like” isn’t actually helpful in the big picture. (And, making the audience sit through a few minutes of why you’re PASSING a game is mostly a waste of time…particularly if it’s part of a string of games where you don’t find edges. I’ve seen hour-long shows that were at least 30 minutes of “nothing I like in this one.”)

*Lead with NEWS! What’s happening in the world of sports betting? What’s happening in the markets? What teams are being overrated and underrated to this point? Is the market chasing any Over/Under tendencies because team’s have changed styles or personnel? Make this 15-20 minutes, not 90 seconds.

*Talk about how the sharps are betting! The reason many of you reading today subscribed to this writing project is because I’m wanted to fill that hole in current media. When I was ghostwriting back in the day…to when I’m talking about sports with casual fans now, THAT’S WHAT PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW. Still strikes me as a bit crazy that I came out of retirement to get that kind of content into the mix because none of the sports betting media entities were devoting much time to it. Mostly cursory stuff before then going into who everybody on a panel likes. It’s fun to study and write up. I’m happy so many of you are interested in that angle. Mystified why media entities won’t spend more time on it….but will spend half a show talking about college football games they’re passing.

*Talk about the weather. I noticed the morning horse racing show at the South Point spends some time on that every day. Should be FRONT AND CENTER on college football Saturdays and NFL Sundays. Not just the occasional instances when there’s a blizzard. Any wind of 10 mph or more. Any game temperatures of 85 or more or less than 40. In baseball season, do wind direction if there’s a forecast available at broadcast time, game temperatures on all outdoor games. Stuff that’s helpful to know (serve the audience!) and can be dealt with reasonably efficiently and quickly.

*When you do have some picks, get to the point when explaining a pick. Don’t meander. It’s not hard to talk in bullet points once you get the hang of it. “The three main reasons I like Boston College are” or whatever. Some (many) days you get the sense that on-air people are just trying to kill time until the show’s over. There’s so much going on in this industry the audience should never feel like the hosts are just killing time.

*Do more tutorials on what betting value is, or isn’t. Do less of (or eliminate entirely) the Bataan Death Marches through a long schedule that are drudgery to get through as an on-air person, and boring to listen to as an audience. Yes, there are a handful of people who want to hear something about every game. They probably loved the old Stardust radio show decades ago, and today they speed through podcasts that do that at double or triple time. In the big picture, that’s hardly anyone. A rounding error. Don’t aim programming at the rounding error.

If sports betting media has a future, it’s at a faster…much more informative pace than what we’ve seen this point in the evolution. Maybe it will just meld (mostly disappear) into existing sports talk formats. Or, maybe it will dissolve and fade from memory…with ultimately the same invisibility as non-existent “slot machine media.”

Hoping for the best. I have a lot of friends in the industry and I want them to have long, happy careers. The handful of broadcasters that are smug pretenders are the people most likely to disappear if programming ever seriously emphasized speed and serving the audience. Eventually, in most fields, people that love the sound of their own voice get lapped by people with energy.

If you have any thoughts about the current state of sports betting media, feel free to post a comment here or on X (formerly twitter) to @JeffFogle. The industry has a few months to get ready for new college football and NFL seasons. Let’s give it some ideas!