How Betting Will Change the Sports Media Business

The Supreme Court injected a dose of optimism into the sports television industry when it ruled to strike down a 26-year-old federal law that largely prohibited sports betting in the United States. The ruling is likely to produce the next major boost to the value of live, televised sports, industry executives and experts say, at just the time when it is most needed. Nearly everyone agrees the appetite for sports consumption both online and on traditional television will surely rise, as more fans might suddenly have a vested interest in tuning in to a Tuesday night matchup in June between the Cincinnati Reds and the Miami Marlins. History has shown that the ability to place a bet on a sporting event makes fans pay closer attention to the action, and watch more. Sports bettors watch about twice as much sports coverage as non-bettors do. So it stands to reason that making it easier for people to become sports bettors will make them more likely to watch sports.