According to this deal of Sinclair broadcast group, there is a fee for naming-rights and it includes spending on marketing. According to the CEO, the revenue generated from gaming would exceed that of traditional ads.
If we look into the details of the deal, it is evident that after 15 months of completing the acquisition of the network of regional sports of 21 Fox, Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc has now agreed on a deal to use the brand of Bally casino to rename them. This is an indication of how much betting is getting intertwined with sports.
This deal is done between Sinclair and Bally’s Corp which is based in Providence on Rhode Island. It includes the use of the latter’s brand for promotions on 190 TV stations that are used for broadcast owned by Sinclair, Stadium which is Sinclair’s streaming service of sports, and the Tennis Channel.
In return for this Sinclair would get a fee of naming-rights as a share in Bally. The agreement also includes that Bally would spend a share of its budget of interactive advertising on outlets of Sinclair. This was confirmed by a statement that was given by both companies.
Sinclair will get the benefit of getting warrants to buy less than 15% of shares of Bally plus additional options and warrants that could provide it with another 15% if they meet certain targets of performance.
The brand Bally would get the benefit of appearing on sports updates of local news as well as sporting events of national level broadcasts from pro football to golf as well as on local broadcast stations.
This agreement will lead to additional revenue generation for a sports network that is regional and is a lot more dependent on fees that are paid by distributors of the cable-TV level. This will help the company to connect with the consumers in a better way whether through fantasy sports, online betting, or social gaming. This revenue is expected to exceed the one generated from traditional advertising.
The goal is also to increase user engagement and more subscribers in the long run apart from increasing revenue. These subscriptions can be made directly with Sinclair Broadcast Group. The company would also launch an app shortly which will enable cable subscribers to see games live from local markets and then the fans that do not have a cable subscription can also sign up on the app to watch local games directly.