How the Action Network is leveraging the betting boom as a super affiliate

At this nascent stage in the sports betting lifespan, the market is teeming with opportunities. For betting content platform The Action Network (TAN), the landscape is a veritable smörgåsbord of potential deals, from operators and sports leagues looking for media and content sharing rights to beef up their offerings, to affiliate partnerships that send readers to specific betting sites, and even the possibility of producing its own betting product, as sports content app theScore has done.

The recent appointment of CCO Ari Borod marks the firm’s first foray into commercializing its B2C site and app, which provides insights, lines from multiple sportsbooks, bet data, and bet tracking tools to help users keep tabs on their bets and plan for upcoming picks.

“I don’t think there is anyone [providing content] to the breadth and tech sophistication that we have, [particularly] combined with content,” says Borod, who was poached from FanDuel in July specifically to forge these betting partnerships.

During his time at the operator, Borod became increasingly involved in building the regulatory framework for the firm and as sports betting became a reality, he got more involved in the operational and revenue generation facets of the business.

“I loved working at FanDuel,” he adds. “I thought every day was interesting and fun and I think it got to a point where it was such a fast-paced experience that at some point I realized things had stabilized. The path was clear after the great merger with Paddy Power Betfair and then the expansion of sports betting.”

But as many have expressed before him, the feeling of helping to grow a start-up had faded and the hunger to do it again kicks in. “We’d achieved big guy status, and I wanted to come somewhere and help them do that all over again.”

A start-up is born

The Action Network came to fruition in 2017, having been born out of the merger of scores, odds and picks tracker site SportsAction, live odds platform Sports Insights and DFS analytics tool FantasyLabs. In the two years since its inception, the start-up’s staff count has ballooned to more than 100 including its remote content creators.

With a new, modern headquarters in New York and $17.5m secured in its latest funding round, the firm is primed for even further growth as it sharpens its technical abilities and invests further in its proprietary platform.

“[The money is] being invested in the two main facets of the company which are product and content. Tech streams are obviously not cheap and if you’ve seen some of the initiatives we’re launching this football season it’s going to be quite impressive,” notes Borod.

Three weeks into his new role, Borod is weighing up the many commercial options available to the company. While he remains open-minded, venturing into the turbulent and extraordinarily expensive world of producing its own betting products is not on TAN’s current roadmap.

Despite being in the hugely beneficial position of knowing exactly how bettors behave and how they want their betting experiences shaped, Borod suggests the already competitive and crowded wagering landscape does not need another offering.

“We’re uniquely placed in that we can focus solely on serving customers with information that is an added value to them. I think various sportsbooks will try to provide their own content and partner up around it and there will be varying different success.

“The advantage we have is we are exclusively focused on the content and I’m including our product and tools as a part of it. We’re very much a tech company with a great product that’s fun and easy to use and that in and of itself is part of the content experience,” he adds.

Borod says TAN is considering partnerships with mainstream media companies to boost its reach and expand its audience. “It’s obviously largely about acquiring users but what I’m more interested in is the ability to help keep bettors informed and making smart picks so they continue to play.” Any such deal would likely offer TAN access to a new type of bettor, as it typically attracts a savvier player that already knows what they want to read about and follow.

“Everyone is interested in reach and getting as many people seeing their brand, products and platform, and particularly in sports media, there is a small group that holds a lot of the viewership for live games, so I think there is a lot of value in being a brand associated with those,” Borod continues.

On air

One such example is TAN’s new agreement with Radio.com parent company Entercom to broadcast unique content on all 35 of its radio stations, as well as its online sports network. Weekly updates from TAN will be included within the sports radio broadcasts throughout the week and TAN contributors will call into Radio.com sports stations to discuss betting headlines.
TAN CEO Patrick Keane said of the deal: “We believe in audio as a vehicle for fueling the growth of our brands and products.

“Entercom offered the unique blend of massive reach broadcast distribution combined with the expertise and track record in digital we believe will enable us to amplify what we do and reach more sports betting consumers who will ultimately become future Action Network subscribers.”

When considering content deals to further extend its reach, Borod is also eager to expand its network of sports leagues. In May, TAN signed NASCAR as a partner to share content specifically on the racing league with. NASCAR MD for gaming Scott Warfield said the network presented an opportunity to immerse fans in engaging and education content.

Another obvious avenue for the firm is to become an affiliate and list lines from specific books on the TAN product. But Borod says that rather than having customer acquisition as its primary role, the firm would seek a much deeper integration with its operator partners.

“So, our tech and tools can be accessible to sportsbook users and also have more of an eye on allowing people to continue to enjoy betting rather than acquiring them and seeing them off,” Borod explains.

The bettor’s insatiable appetite for statistics and content in the US market is undeniable, and with reputable providers like The Action Network now making a play to leverage their much-sought after content, the industry is realizing how valuable it is for acquiring new players.

“Coming from an operator, I have a good sense of what the others are trying to achieve and ultimately I’d like to get to a place where we’re working with them in a partnership where both sides feel value is being derived. We also need to be sensitive to the fact we have a large population of subscribers and we want to make sure we continue to provide them the best content,” Borod concludes.
With a bright future ahead, it is only natural to question whether The Action Network is considering being bought outright by any eager stakeholders fighting for market share.

Borod says that beyond his plan to turn the network into something big and valuable, he can’t comment on the future of the company. But as is often uttered in this industry, never say never.