The ESPN Bet logo on a laptop arranged in New York, US, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Disney’s ESPN and Penn Entertainment are terminating their sports betting partnership, bringing an end to the ESPN Bet brand on Penn’s sportsbook years earlier than planned.
The partnership, which came together in 2023, allowed for ESPN to rebrand and relaunch Penn’s sportsbook — then known as Barstool Sportsbook — as ESPN Bet. The agreement had a 10-year term.
On Thursday, Penn and ESPN announced they have mutually agreed to wind down the partnership early. The sportsbook will be rebranded again as theScore Bet.
“When we first announced our partnership with ESPN, both sides made it clear that we expected to compete for a podium position in the space,” said Penn CEO Jay Snowden in a news release.
“Although we made significant progress in improving our product offering and building a cohesive ecosystem with ESPN, we have mutually and amicably agreed to wind down our collaboration,” he said.
The 10-year partnership allowed for either ESPN or Penn to end the agreement after the third year “if specific market share performance thresholds were not met,” according to the release. Still, the announcement Thursday brings the deal to a close after just over two years.
ESPN Chariman Jimmy Pitaro said in the release that the company is “now pursuing other media and marketing opportunities within this space.”
ESPN had inked the deal with Penn after spending some time looking for a gambling partner. Disney had made clear in the past it would never take bets directly, making a partnership the only viable path for ESPN to get into the booming online sports gambling industry.
Sports betting has become an integral part of ESPN’s direct-to-consumer streaming platform.
The ESPN Bet brand is expected to wind down by Dec. 1, according to the release.
Under the original deal, ESPN agreed to provide Penn with the exclusive right to its brand for the sportsbook, as well as media and marketing services. In exchange, Penn agreed to pay ESPN $1.5 billion in cash over the 10-year perio, and also granted ESPN about $500 million of warrants to buy roughly 31.8 million Penn common shares that would vest over the same period.
On Thursday the companies said Penn’s $150 million in yearly cash payments will cease in the fourth quarter, as would the warrants to buy Penn’s common stock.
