William Hill seals BT Sport deal
Operator kicks-off pre-season push with sponsorship of broadcaster's Premier League and FA Cup coverage plus addition of new betting tab
UK bookmaker William Hill has begun to ramp up its marketing strategy ahead of the start of the English Premier League football season after signing a new partnership with BT Sport.
The deal will see the Gibraltar-licensed operator sponsor Premier League, Scottish Professional Football League and FA Cup games broadcasted by the TV channel, adding to what its CEO James Henderson described as a “top-tier marketing package” with Sky Sports.
As part of the agreement, the BT Sport website and mobile app now also includes a new betting tab which links directly to William Hill’s sportsbook offering a £20 free bet.
“This forms part of our above-the-line marketing strategy for the forthcoming season [and] we will naturally ramp up advertising around football as the season starts,” a spokesperson for William Hill told eGaming Review.
“The betting tab is one of many relationships we have with numerous football related sites,” the spokesperson added.
In its 2013 annual report released in February, William Hill revealed it had entered a bidding process to secure the BT Sport deal, with the then CEO Ralph Topping rating it to be one of the three biggest media contracts in the online gambling industry alongside Channel 4 Racing and Sky Sports.
Earlier this week is was revealed William Hill had become the official betting partner of Southampton Football Club.
William Hill recently reported a 12% year-on-year increase half-year online revenues after a “record-breaking” World Cup and a strong performance from its gaming business.
Online revenues for the six months ended 30 June increased to £261.1m, up from £233.9m during the same period last year, while the firm’s online operating profit marginally increased by 1% to £81.1m.