Via TechCrunch

Daily fantasy sites are like the pop up restaurants of the sports world, with more and more companies trying to cash in on the trend than ever before. Two sites, FanDuel and DraftKings have been devouring the competition for some time, helped by some grade A prime deals with professional sports leagues and media conglomerates.

It’s genius, really, and unlike a pop up restaurant, neither of those two companies looks like they’re going to disappear overnight. Daily fantasy is big business, like $88 million dollars big.

FanDuel raised that much in funding from investors that include both Comcast and NBC Sports Ventures, and per Forbes, used some of that capital to develop—i.e. pay for—relationships with sports leagues. For FanDuel, that’s been the NBA, and while the brand has already worked out a deal with the league itself, the teams can somehow work out individual deals with whatever daily fantasy group they choose.

Take the Knicks, for example, which is a huge part of MSG’s deal with DraftKings from earlier in June. (Fun note: If you Google Knicks DraftKings a story on DraftKings’ about the Knicks is the first result, with the first line: “So, none of this is going to happen because the Knicks aren’t very bright.” Synergy!)

It seems odd the league would have one deal and teams have another competing deal, like Nike getting the NBA contract but the Knicks wearing Adidas uniforms because the Dolans like stripes. And yet, both DraftKings and FanDuel are in an arms race to collect the most properties. It’s an all you can eat situation. From Forbes:

FanDuel has wrapped up partnerships for at least the 2015-16 NBA season with the following franchises: Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz.  

The actual length of each respective partnership has not been revealed; however, the deals all include grants of access for FanDuel to use marketing assets from in-arena digital signage and in-game promotions, as well as certain guarantees on digital, television and radio advertising opportunities.

If y0u’re tired of hearing all the daily fantasy ads on television and radio, well tough turnips—maybe took the food analogies too far there—because they aren’t going away, and more and more local NBA games are going to be flooded with spots as well. Shiploads of ads. (Wait…wrong company.)

FanDuel has a deal with the NBA and about half the league’s teams. DraftKings has a deal with MLB, its teams and the NHL, with those teams allowed to work out their own deals, like NBA teams can. Which site gets a deal with the NFL, if any, will be the biggest winner. For now, gobbling up all the other leagues and franchises seems like a smart move.

[Forbes]

About Dan Levy

Dan Levy has written a lot of words in a lot of places, most recently as the National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. He was host of The Morning B/Reakaway on Sirius XM's Bleacher Report Radio for the past year, and previously worked at Sporting News and Rutgers University, with a concentration on sports, media and public relations.

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