Back in the day, TV was broadcast for free. All you had to do was live with a series of ads that aired between segments of Happy Days or Three’s Company.
Then, by 1980, nearly one in four homes had switched to cable. In some cases, cable customers no longer had to watch ads, but they did have to pay a subscription fee. For years, kids would ask each other if they had cable as a way of sneakily determining their friends’ socioeconomic status.
By 2011, Netflix had become the No. 1 source of internet streaming in North America, accounting for 30% of traffic during peak hours. The pay-for-content model seemed to be cemented for good.
But now the pendulum seems, once again, to be swinging back to free content with the rapid rise of Free Ad-Supported Streaming (FAST), a trend DraftKings is jumping into with the announcement this week that it’s launching its DraftKings Network on Samsung TV Plus. That means the DraftKings Network will be one of more than 250 free channels that comes with Samsung smart TVs, and it will also be streamable through the sportsbook’s website.
Services like Tubi, Pluto, and the Roku Channel, all of which offer FAST, make up the fastest-growing part of the streaming business these days, as high-priced streaming services deal with increased competition and soaring production costs.
Lineup of influencers and sports celebrities
If you’re going to ride the latest trend, it makes sense to gear your efforts to young people, who are the likeliest to roll with the technology rollercoaster. And DraftKings Network certainly seems to be skewing young with its menu of programming.
FAST is on 24/7, so it requires a lot of programming, and DraftKings is delivering with seven daily programs, including an early-morning sports betting and pop culture show with Mitch Moss and Pauly Howard; a new Mike Golic, Jr. sports show with Brandon Newman; The Dan LeBatard Show with Stugotz; a VSiN Best Bets show in the afternoon; an NFL news show with Ross Tucker; another VSiN show, this one with ex-NFL quarterback Shaun King; and a weekend show called The Handle, which promises to preview weekend games, “with analysis for experienced and new bettors alike.”
DraftKings also announced nine new weekly shows that include The Cooligans, a comedic look at sports of particular interest to Latino viewers; The GM Shuffle with ex-NFL general manager Mike Lombardi; The Sweat Tuesday Takeover with popular baseball social-media presence Jared Carrabis; and a show called Journeyman with former NFL journeyman Andrew Hawkins.
“In bringing together some of the most authentic sports and entertainment voices under one umbrella, DraftKings Network is the destination for in-on-the-action sports fans and content they love,” said Stacie McCollum, vice president of content at DraftKings, in a statement. “We look forward to reaching fans with our deep roster of independent, credible, and relatable voices that resonate with sports fans and the sports betting community.”
And the best thing about it? It won’t cost you a dime, just your attention span, fleeting as that may be.
BetRivers sponsors NCAA basketball games
DraftKings wasn’t the only sportsbook making moves in the streaming realm this week. It seems original content is fast becoming a differentiator for some of the books, particularly BetRivers.
The Field of 68, the exclusive streaming partner of the BetRivers Network, is launching a new round-robin men’s basketball series between Florida Atlantic, College of Charleston, and Liberty over the next three years. The inaugural series will be played at FAU from Nov. 30 to Dec. 2, then move to Charleston in 2024 before it’s held at Liberty the following year.
Last year, The Field of 68 was the exclusive streaming home of just one game, a Stephen F. Austin vs. Furman matchup.
In addition to streaming the games, the network will send hosts Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster to the gym for pregame shows and the After Dark show on the BetRivers Network following the games. It’s a cool concept that’s not just about how many people watch this year, but how this positions BetRivers in the long run as one of the most creative of sportsbook content creators.
Yogi doc worth a look
If you only think of Yogi Berra as a supplier of famous malaprops, consider educating yourself on his remarkable career. That includes his 1950 season, when he struck out just 12 times in 656 plate appearances and mashed 28 home runs. And that was before he won the first of three MVP awards.
If you want more, consider dropping by a movie theater to see the new documentary on the great Yankees catcher called It Ain’t Over, which opened in New York on Friday. One of the primary drivers for the film is Yogi’s granddaughter, Lindsay Berra, a familiar name and face to anyone who covered baseball in the 1990s and early 2000s, when she wrote about the game for ESPN and other outlets.
The familial love comes across in the movie, as does the sheer greatness of Yogi Berra. Remember his famous words: You can observe a lot by just watching.
