It’s not uncommon for controversial things to be said on The Pat McAfee Show, and it’s not uncommon for those controversial things to cause trouble for ESPN executives. But this controversy has nothing to do with COVID-19 or celebrity shootings.
This time it arrived at my house.
During Thursday’s show, an ad for ESPN BET popped up while McAfee was speaking. The host seemed unable to resist the opportunity, pointing to the logo and sarcastically saying, “Things are going well here.” Then one of the co-hosts yelled, “No!”
“Absolutely not,” McAfee admitted.
“There’s a lot of room for growth at ESPN Bet,” McAfee said, as if to offer some encouragement. “Hey, good luck! Hey, let’s go, ESPN Bet!” Even if you get knocked down, you’ll come back! ”
This morning, ESPN Bet’s profit was about $30 million less than analysts expected, and Penn Entertainment’s stock price fell 15%.
“ESPN Bet has a lot of room to grow,” Pat McAfee chimed in after an ad on his show.
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— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 2, 2024
Perhaps he senses that ESPN executives find the segment less interesting than he and his co-hosts. Mr. McAfee took on a more serious tone.
“We’re striving for that. Because we’re on ESPN and obviously part of ESPN, we want our ESPN-related productions to be successful,” McAfee said. he said. “They’ll be fine. They’ll figure it out.”
McAfee’s taunt came after Penn Entertainment, which actually owns ESPN BET, released its first quarter earnings report. The report showed ESPN BET missed expected revenue by $30 million.
ESPN Bet logo on a laptop placed on Thursday, February 22, 2024 in New York, USA. Penn Entertainment’s Interactive Gambling division posted a loss of $333.8 million in the fourth quarter due to costs related to its Nov. 14 launch. Sales of the new sports betting service “ESPN Bet” have been discontinued, and the stock price has fallen. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“ESPN BET continued to gain new users this quarter while maintaining a disciplined approach to promotions and marketing spend. However, our financial results reflected lower-than-expected retention and spend per user. ” said Jay Snowden, Penn CEO and president. statement. “While we are pleased with the initial adoption and engagement results for ESPN BET, we are focused on enhancing our product offerings for this football season, including a revamped home screen and expanded parlay offerings. ”
Optimism about the future aside, Penn’s stock price fell 15% after the report was released. Penn made headlines last year when he left Barstool Sports to partner with ESPN in a $2 billion move aimed at breaking the duopoly in sports betting between DraftKings and FanDuel.
So far, not very good.
