Australian sportsbook has signed a deal to become the official sports betting partner of NBC Sports for the next five years. 

The operator has committed to spending $393 million (USD) in the US market and will form part of the country’s eight regional NBC Sports Regional Networks’ matchday integrations across multiple platforms. 

As well as serving English-speaking sports fans in the US, the company’s content will also be optimized for Spanish speakers across the country. 

PointsBet is also planning to raise 300 million Australian Dollars in capital. 

A mega deal in the bag 

Sportico reports that the new deal between PointsBet and NBC Sports is worth $500 million. In addition to this, the broadcaster and sports content supplier has acquired a 4.9% share in the sportsbook. It’s believed that there is an option to increase this to up to 25% after five years of their partnership. 

In addition to being incorporated into NBC’s regional sporting networks, PointsBet will also sponsor the NBC Sports Predictor. The operator will also integrate its content within the app. 

Through its Spanish-language offerings, the US’ Hispanic population will be able to enjoy PointsBet’s offerings via the broadcasting stations Telemundo and Telemundo Deportes. 

PointsBet Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Sam Swanell had the following to say about the new partnership. 

“Through the NBC Sports partnership, PointsBet gains access to market-leading linear assets which span 184m viewers and digital assets which span 60m monthly active users.

“These assets will act as the cornerstone of our marketing strategy and combined with our in-house technology and products, as well as our talented and experienced team, will deliver outstanding client acquisition and retention efficiency as we scale rapidly over the next five years.”

NBC joins the list of US sports broadcasts to partner with an operator 

A number of the US’ biggest broadcasting networks already either have their own sportsbook or are partnered with one. Fox Sports, for example, has launched Fox Bet in collaboration with The Stars Group (TSG). Elsewhere, William Hill is the official sports betting operator for CBS Sports. ESPN also has a betting partner; it has launched a production studio in Las Vegas through a partnership with Caesars. In terms of media companies, Penn National is set to launch the Barstool Sportsbook mobile app before the end of this year. 

Circling back to PointsBet, the operator will also have its content integrated with the NBC-owned fantasy and sports betting analysis platform Rotoworld.

The 4.9% share that NBC will now have in the operator will, according to PointsBet, balance the sizable marketing budget commitment that has been made. 

David Preschlack, President of NBC Regional Sports Network, has also commented on the new multi-million-dollar deal. His words were as follows. 

“For NBCUniversal and PointsBet, this agreement provides considerable opportunities in the fast-growing sports betting marketplace, which is unique to this extensive and robust, multi-year arrangement. 

“Looking ahead, we’re also excited about the significant activation opportunities that will come to fruition as sports betting continues to proliferate across the US.”

Other practicalities of the PointsBet and NBC partnership

The partnership was made possible through NBCUniversal, which is the parent company of NBC’s various sporting networks. 

If shareholder approval is not secured by November 28th 2020, either party has the power to cancel the agreement. Should this happen, the marketing budget would not be offset – as is currently planned. Moreover, NBCUniversal would have the power to cut all ties with PointsBet within half-a-year.

Beginning tomorrow (September 2nd), PointsBet has also announced that it plans to raise 300 million AUD through a capital raising. 

As of the time of writing, no offer price has been finalized. It’s expected that this will happen later once the process starts. Prices on the stock market will likely cost 13 AUD each, running through to the end of September 2022. The entitlement offer ration, meanwhile, is expected to be one new share for every 6.5 held on the launch date. PointsBet is originally based out of Australia. In the US, it is currently active in New Jersey, Iowa and Indiana.