As sports gambling grows thanks to this year’s Supreme Court decision striking down a federal ban, there was speculation on just how much TV would benefit from advertising. Well, it appears that CBS is beginning to see significant benefits. Embattled CBS CEO Les Moonves told investors at an earnings call that one of its local stations in Philadelphia is already receiving ad revenue from sports gambling.
Moonves said, “We’re extremely excited. It’s a category that has unbelievable upside.”
And as CBS’ Philadelphia station is starting to see a boost, Moonves said the network’s flagship TV station in New York is expected to witness a similar upturn in gambling ad revenue.
Moonves cited the example of 2015’s flood of advertising from daily fantasy services DraftKings and FanDuel, both of which bought a plethora of ads during football season before waning later in the year.
With sports books already legal in three states now (Delaware, Mississippi, and New Jersey) , the potential for increased advertising is real. And with DraftKings and FanDuel among those gearing to offer sports gambling, expect both companies to reach out to the TV networks to tap into armchair gamblers.
And as more states enter the gambling market, there’s an opportunity for bigger states like California, Florida, New York and Texas plus the Midwest region to legalize sports betting. And if that occurs, CBS and other networks could stand to gain a lot of ad revenue and that would make media executives like Moonves very happy.
About Ken Fang
Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.
He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.
Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.