Miami sports staple and radio talking head Dan Le Batard and DraftKings have tied the knot.
Meadowlark Media, the enterprise that Le Batard and former ESPN exec John Skipper founded, recently inked a deal with DraftKings. Le Batard, who hosts his show steps from Miami Beach, said in a DraftKings press release he was overjoyed to have the partnership.
“Thank you, DraftKings, for empowering us with the exhilarating combination of rocket fuel and total freedom,” Le Batard said. “I’m overjoyed to team with a fearless creative partner who sees the future and wants to help us change it. DraftKings believed in us, our principles and our mission enough to give us a freedom no scared corporation or traditional media partner ever could or ever would.”
Partnership characterized as a “distribution, monetization and sponsorship” deal
Top sports betting operator DraftKings announced the partnership via a press release that revealed a few details about what the future looks like.
The deal encompasses content distribution, monetization and a sponsorship.
DraftKings will distribute The Dan Le Batard Show and Le Batard and Friends, a compilation of podcast material.
Likewise, Le Batard’s podcasts will promote “DraftKings’ odds, betting trends and general sportsbook and daily fantasy information,” the release noted.
“John Skipper and Dan Le Batard have established a deep roster of content creators that will continue to expand quality and original programming,” DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said in the release. “Our relationship with Meadowlark Media demonstrates DraftKings’ dynamic approach in bringing premium content to skin-in-the-game sports fans through numerous channels.”
And while DraftKings is certainly the bigger brand in the partnership, Le Batard holds his own. The Dan Le Batard Show With Stugotz is the United States’ third-ranked sports podcast behind Pardon My Take and The Bill Simmons Podcast.
Changes keep coming for Le Batard
In January, Le Batard announced he was ending his partnership with ESPN, ending an eight-year run with the network. The announcement also meant the end of Le Batard’s television show, Highly Questionable.
The moves followed a lengthy strife between the host and ESPN. The Dan Le Batard Show was reduced by an hour and moved to ESPN+. And finally, the company fired Le Batard’s producer without consulting him.
The farewell turned out to be the beginning of a new era in Le Batard’s career. He started Meadowlark Media with Skipper in January and took his wildly popular show independent.
DraftKings continues to strengthen its portfolio
The Le Batard deal comes during a year in which DraftKings struck a deal with Vegas Sports and Information Network (VSiN), the Vegas-based content producer that churns out 17 hours of live programming on weekdays.
Like the Le Batard deal, the VSiN partnership allows DraftKings to increase its reach while giving VSiN a chance to broaden its audience.
