DraftKings strikes multi-year partnership with iHeartMedia
Betting operator to become official odds supplier of media giant
DraftKings’ betting odds will soon be exclusively featured across iHeartMedia’s audio network after the two parties joined forces on a multi-year strategic partnership.
As part of the agreement, DraftKings will become the official odds supplier across all iHeartMedia platforms, including broadcast, digital, and social.
It will also be able to tap into the media giant’s vast podcast network, which generates more than 280 million monthly downloads.
Content represents another key pillar of the relationship, as DraftKings will have the opportunity to co-create and distribute long-form series in concert with iHeartMedia’s roster of personalities.
The two parties will also collaborate on a host of content-development initiatives, with DraftKings shows and segments distributed across iHeartMedia’s radio and digital properties, as well as its live sports broadcasts.
IHeartMedia boasts 270 million monthly consumers on its broadcast platform, which should serve to significantly expand the reach of DraftKings’ content.
“Customer engagement remains a primary focus for DraftKings, and this latest agreement with iHeartMedia amplifies our reach immensely to a dedicated audience that spans more than 160 markets across the country with the largest audio company in the US,” said DraftKings co-founder and North America president Matt Kalish.
Greg Ashlock, CEO of iHeartMedia, added: “Even though we are number one in audio sports programming, we continue to build new sports content and DraftKings is an ideal partner as we expand and innovate.”
In addition to odds integrations and content development, the partnership will also include experiential and advertising opportunities.
The two parties will collaborate on the delivery of cross-platform interactive games to create a more holistic user experience, while DraftKings will have the ability to access iHeartMedia’s SmartAudio suite of data-driven advertising products to better target new and existing customers.
“Analytically tapping into iHeart’s coveted listenership while powering authentic betting content is a landmark moment for both organizations and precursor to new possibilities in media innovation,” said Kalish.