After spending nearly two decades in upper management at ESPN, Laura Gentile is acutely aware of the advantages conferred to a company by attaining first-mover status.
But while other networks have raced into sports betting since the U.S. Supreme Court's historic PASPA ruling, the Worldwide Leader In Sports has preferred to slow-roll its hand. Now, as reports circulate of ESPN's discussions with a prominent sportsbook, the media giant is prepared to go all in.
“I think this is an example where we were well-suited to play it this way,” said Gentile, who serves as executive vice president of commercial marketing for the Disney Networks and ESPN. “It is crystal clear that there’s enough demand for sports betting and it’s time to move.”
Gentile made the comments Wednesday at the second annual ESPN Edge technology conference. The virtual panel, titled “ESPN Sports Betting & Fantasy: We Like Our Hand,” focused on the network’s expansion of sports betting content at a time when parent company Disney has signaled that it’s ready to move into the industry. The panel did not address recent reports that ESPN is nearing a deal with DraftKings to license its sports betting brand to the Boston-headquartered company.