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☆ Chris Pine was rejected for the role of Ryan Atwood on 'The O.C.' because he had 'really bad' acne, says casting director
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Olivia Singh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Chris Pine auditioned for the role of Ryan Atwood on Fox's teen drama "The O.C." Casting director Patrick Rush said Pine was "really good" but had "really bad skin problems." "It was at that point where it looked insurmountable," Rush said. "We saw Chris Pine, who was really good," Patrick Rush said in the book "Welcome to the O.C. "I hate saying this, but it's the truth: Chris Pine was at the age where he was experiencing really bad skin problems," Rush continued.

Persons: Chris Pine, Ryan Atwood, Patrick Rush, Pine, Rush, —, Alan Sepinwall, Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage, Chris Pine's, Ben McKenzie, Garrett Hedlund, D.J, Cotrona, Schwartz, Ed Norton Organizations: Service, Fox Locations: Pine, Hollywood, Chino , California, Newport Beach, Orange County

☆ ESPN's VP of sports betting shares his keys to success for ESPN Bet and an inside look into the partnership with Penn
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( Margaret Fleming | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In other words, ESPN Bet has arrived. The companies announced in August their collaboration, with the operator selling its stake in Barstool Sports to rebrand Barstool Sportsbook as ESPN Bet. Screenshots from the ESPN Bet app. Providing easy transitions between the ESPN and ESPN Bet apps is a key focus to drive that metric, he added. — ESPN BET (@ESPNBet) November 10, 2023The move has given ESPN Bet an advantage on social media with 5.4 million followers on X, 2.7 million on Facebook, and 2.4 million on Instagram.

Persons: It's, Jay Snowden, Mike Morrison, Morrison, Scott Longley, DraftKings, Penn, Snowden, Jimmy Pitaro, Pitaro, I'm, cohesively we've, Keys, Fubo Sportsbook, Maxim Bet, it's Organizations: ESPN Bet, ESPN, Penn Entertainment, Sports, Business, Apple, Caesars, Penn, ESPN Penn, TheScore, Fox, Maxim, Yahoo, Walt Disney Company, ESPN BET, Facebook Locations: Penn, Las Vegas

☆ The sports-betting apps that NFL fans in their 20s love — and 3 other key takeaways on the habits of young football devotees
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Margaret Fleming | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

And a new report sheds light on how those efforts are resonating with younger fans. Compared to NFL fans aged 30 and older, fans in their 20s were three times more likely to place a bet every week. And only 11% of fans in their 30s spent more than $1,000 annually on sports betting, versus 28% of younger fans. That number was just 33% among fans aged 30 and up. Most of these fans said they played in a fantasy league during the 2022 football season, but most older fans didn't.

Persons: YouGov, FanDuel, Barstool, Penn, Fox, sputtered, Barstool Sportsbook, sportsbooks, NFL RedZone, aren't, they're Organizations: NFL, Sports, Penn Entertainment, ESPN Bet, Fox, Bally Bet, Brand, FOX Bet

☆ Fanatics and ESPN are ready to shake up sports betting this fall. Here are the 5 battlegrounds to watch during the biggest gambling season of the year.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Margaret Fleming | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The start of the regular NFL season kicks off the biggest sports-betting season of the year. Here are the battlegrounds to watch as Fanatics and ESPN Bet enter and Bet365 gains share. The NFL kicked off Thursday night, and so did the biggest season of the year for US sports betting. It ranked fourth among more than 40 apps in EKG's national panel of "secret shopper"-style app testers — behind only FanDuel, DraftKings, and PointsBet. "There's one strategy: you have to be early, you have to be ahead of the start of the season," Beynon said.

Persons: We've, Macquarie, Chad Beynon, Bet365, Chris Krafcik, Krafick, EKG, Penn, It's, Sportsbook, isn't, Beynon, That'll, DraftKings, it's, BetMGM, Entain, Wynn Organizations: NFL, Bank of America, ESPN Bet, Penn Entertainment, Fox, Krejcik, ESPN, DraftKings, Penn, BetMGM, Caesars, MGM, Angstrom Sports, Wynn Resorts, Rush, Interactive Locations: Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, BetMGM, FanDuel, Macquarie, Las Vegas, Chicago, Connecticut

☆ How ESPN's $2 billion deal with Penn Entertainment could shake up sports betting, from reinvigorating competition to evolving media's relationship with gambling
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Margaret Fleming | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Many view the deal as a "win-win" for ESPN, Penn, and its former partner Barstool Sports. Industry insiders say the deal could signal a potential ESPN spinoff, disrupt competition, and more. Here's what industry insiders are saying about the deal:1. FanDuel and DraftKings dominate US online sports-betting and gambling market share, followed by BetMGM, according to a July report from Macquarie that analyzed Vixio data. Industry insiders like affiliate-marketing company Gambling.com Group's Max Bichsel aren't sure about that prediction.

Persons: Barstool, Bob Iger, Penn, sportsbooks, who's, Chris Grove, Dave Portnoy, Portnoy, Fox's, Sharp, Sharp Alpha Advisor's Lloyd Danzig, Dan, Danzig, Brandon Nispel, he's, Nispel, Kimberly White, FanDuel, BetMGM, Zachary, Max Bichsel aren't, Bichsel, I'm, Grove, It's, DraftKings, let's, FuboTV, hasn't, Fox Bet, Ed Moed, Fox, Dan Wasiolek, Wasiolek Organizations: ESPN, Penn Entertainment, Penn, Barstool Sports . Industry, ESPN Bet, Investors, Acies Investments, Barstool Sports, Sharp Alpha, Disney, KeyBanc, CFRA Research, . Industry, ESPN —, Fox, Maxim Magazine, Sports, Fox Bet, Morningstar Locations: Macquarie, Canada

☆ Flutter's US bet drives first half profit 76% higher
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Padraic Halpin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Dublin-based company said this made it the first online betting operator to turn a profit in the U.S and it did so six months ahead of schedule. Analysts at JPMorgan also noted a more cautious outlook on Australia, where Flutter's first half revenues fell by 1%. The U.S. profits contributed to reported EBITDA of 765 million pounds across the group, versus the 731 million pounds forecast by eight analyst polled by Refinitiv. Flutter and broadcaster Fox Corporation (FOXA.O) said last month it would close the FOX Bet sports betting platform. That would eclipse the record full year earnings of 1.4 billion pounds Flutter posted during the COVID-19 online betting boom of 2020.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Jefferies, Paddy Power, Padraic Halpin, Louise Heavens, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, JPMorgan, PokerStars, Ireland, Refinitiv, FOX Bet, Fox Corporation, Thomson Locations: Dublin, U.S, Australia

☆ Disney's big sports-betting deal has industry insiders abuzz about possibilities, from a potential ESPN spinoff to heightened competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Margaret Fleming | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Many view the deal as a "win-win" for ESPN, Penn, and its former partner Barstool Sports. Industry insiders say the deal could signal a potential ESPN spinoff, disrupt competition, and more. Gambling industry insiders thought Disney CEO Bob Iger might make quick work of setting a sports-betting strategy when he took back the reins of the ESPN owner late last year. Here's what industry insiders are saying about the deal:1. Industry insiders like affiliate marketing company Gambling.com's Max Bichsel aren't sure about that prediction.

Persons: Barstool, Bob Iger, Penn, sportsbooks, who's, Chris Grove, Dave Portnoy, Portnoy, Fox's, Sharp, Sharp Alpha Advisor's Lloyd Danzig, Dan, Danzig, Brandon Nispel, he's, Nispel, Kimberly White, FanDuel, BetMGM, Zachary, Gambling.com's Max Bichsel aren't, Bichsel, I'm, Grove, It's, DraftKings, let's, FuboTV, hasn't, Fox Bet, Ed Moed, Fox, Dan Wasiolek, Wasiolek Organizations: ESPN, Penn Entertainment, Penn, Barstool Sports . Industry, ESPN Bet, Investors, Acies Investments, Barstool Sports, Sharp Alpha, Disney, KeyBanc, CFRA Research, . Industry, ESPN —, Fox, Maxim Magazine, Sports, Fox Bet, Morningstar Locations: Macquarie, Canada

☆ Fox to Wind Down Sports-Betting Site Fox Bet
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Will Feuer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

A dispute arose over the price Fox would pay for a stake in the market-leading FanDuel app, leading to arbitration that began in the spring of 2021. The sports betting app Fox Bet is available in four states, with just 0.2% share of the U.S. market, according to researcher Vixio. A free version called Fox Bet Super 6 has attracted some 6 million users whom Fox hopes to eventually convert to betters. The growth of Fox Bet has stagnated since Flutter acquired Stars Group, the company that helped launch Fox Bet and owns and operates the app. Fox claimed that Flutter failed to provide reasonable resources behind Fox Bet, a claim Flutter said the arbitrator rejected, finding that Flutter had agreed to commit "commercially reasonable" resources behind the offering.

As recently as August, Lachlan Murdoch described sports betting as "a huge opportunity" for Fox Sports, telling Wall Street it would fuel viewer engagement. The sports betting app Fox Bet is available in four states, with just 0.2% share of the U.S. market, according to researcher Vixio. A free version called Fox Bet Super 6 has attracted some 6 million users whom Fox hopes to eventually convert to gamblers. The growth of Fox Bet has stagnated since market-leading FanDuel's owner, Flutter Entertainment Plc (FLTRF.L), acquired Stars Group in 2020. The matter is the subject of an arbitration case and Lachlan Murdoch told investors a decision is expected imminently.

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