CBS Sports and William Hill plc (LON:WMH), America’s leading sports book operator, today announced a strategic partnership that makes William Hill the Official Sports Book and Wagering Data Provider across all CBS Sports platforms. The deal will reinvent fan engagement through a unique integration of sports betting, media, product and technology. The partnership will kick-off with initial integrations in March on CBS Sports digital platforms, with a full rollout planned for the fantasy football season.
The partnership extends CBS Sports’ digital leadership in the sports betting space and allows for the creation of even more relevant content across its wide array of platforms. CBS Sports will utilise William Hill’s odds, experts and more than 140 sports books to bolster its current digital offerings, delivering deeper information and programming produced from William Hill sports books across the country, and further engaging sports bettors and fans. In addition, the partnership includes opportunities to feature William Hill data, odds and markets across CBS television programming.
William Hill will receive exclusive rights to promote its brand across CBS Sports’ broad range of digital properties, including through CBS Sports Fantasy, one of the largest fantasy platforms in the world, resulting in highly efficient customer acquisition for the sports betting company.
“We’re thrilled to launch this momentous partnership, which will allow us to deepen our investment and further extend our leadership in delivering multi-platform sports wagering content, while providing William Hill with unprecedented reach for their market-leading betting platform as they continue to grow their industry leading U.S. business,” said Jeffrey Gerttula, Executive Vice President and General Manager, CBS Sports Digital. “The power of our distribution, combined with the strength of our brands and the expertise of William Hill, has us well positioned to tap into the explosive growth of the legal sports betting industry in the U.S. Together, we will deliver even more value to this rapidly growing segment of sports fans.”
“CBS Sports, similar to William Hill, has a longstanding history of connecting fans directly to the biggest events and most iconic moments in sports,” said Joe Asher, CEO of William Hill US. “We are excited about this partnership, with assets including mass-reach digital content products, one of the largest fantasy sports databases and platforms in the world, and leading sports television programming, which will allow us to expand the William Hill brand across America quickly and efficiently.”
Ulrik Bengtsson, CEO of William Hill commented: “Becoming the official sports betting provider to CBS is another major step forward for William Hill in our US expansion. We are already a market leader with leading access, a bespoke technology platform and the most experienced US team. Now we have exclusive media, branding and promotional rights across CBS’ leading digital sports properties, to take the William Hill brand further and faster in the US.”
CBS Sports Digital is the second-largest sports property in the U.S. with more than 80 million users per month across its sites and apps as well as tens of millions of followers on social platforms. CBS Sports Digital offerings include SportsLine, the dedicated subscription platform for game picks and predictions that has seen strong subscriber growth in recent years; CBSSports.com; 24/7 streaming network CBS Sports HQ, which features the nightly SportsLine show focused on sports betting and delivered triple-digit viewership growth in 2019; CBS Sports Fantasy; CBS Sports apps; and 247Sports.
Powered by a heritage that dates back to 1934, William Hill established its U.S. presence in Las Vegas in 2012 and has grown to become America’s leading sports book operator by differentiating itself from the industry as an innovative pioneer in sports betting. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that overturned PASPA in 2018, William Hill has led the United States expansion of sports betting and now has operations in 10 states. The company currently accepts one out of every four sports bets placed in the U.S.
Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed.
