On Friday, Jan. 11, basketball fans in the Washington, D.C. area will be among the first to see an NBA telecast infused with elements of sports betting, gaming and analytics. Per SportsBusinessDaily, it’s coming via an “alternate game telecast” on NBC Sports Washington Plus, a regional channel reserved for overflow.
NBC Sports Washington Plus will produce the alternate broadcast for the Milwaukee Bucks-Washington Wizards game, and in conjunction with it will offer a free-to-play predictive contest with a $500 prize. The screen will feature statistics, odds, point spreads and over/unders that run alongside game action. Per SBJ, this will mark the first of eight such planned broadcasts this season.
“Combining the excitement of live Wizards games with engaging predictive gaming and data feeds will deliver a very entertaining experience for viewers, from first-time gaming players to savvy sports bettors,” NBC Sports Washington senior vice president and general manager Damon Phillips said in a news release. “The level of interest from fans, partners and sponsors in this area continues to increase, so we are pleased to offer this compelling product this season.”
Making sports betting interactive
“Predict the Game,” will ask approximately 30 questions throughout the broadcast like how many points a specific player will score in a quarter or how many assists a player will have in a half. Fans will be prompted to visit NBC Sports Washington’s website to answer the contest questions.
“We wanted to give fans a little taste of what they can expect and maybe explain to them what predictive gaming is,” said Mark Friedman, director of creative services and advanced technology, NBC Sports Washington. “We want to let them know that it’s not this scary thing with a stigma associated with it. It’s fun. You can put $5 on a game and add a little bit of interest.”
Game announcers and advertising breaks will be the same as on the main broadcast. Additional alternate broadcasts are scheduled for Wizards games on Jan. 27 at the San Antonio Spurs, Jan. 30 against the Indiana Pacers, Feb. 2 against the Bucks, Feb. 22 at the Charlotte Hornets, March 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, March 19 against the Utah Jazz and April 5 against the Spurs.
The Council of the District of Columbia recently passed a bill to legalize sports betting in Washington D.C., including at sports venues like Capital One Arena. The law is awaiting final approval but is expected to pass, with a real sportsbook likely to come to the premises of the Wizards and Capitals.
The future of sports betting
The expansion of legal sports betting in the U.S. is still in its infancy, and NBC, which may have sights on running a sportsbook of its own, is testing the waters here.
“We’re trying to figure out ways to appeal to casual sports bettors to make the games more interesting,” said David Preschlack, president of NBC Sports Regional Networks. The number of viewers for this initial round of broadcasts does will be telling.
Sports betting is still relatively niche, similar to what fantasy football was 20 years ago. Or at least it’s a combination of wildly popular but still stigmatized, as Friedman indicates. As sports betting gets legalized in more states, the goal will be to reach a larger market share with March Madness-like pools that interests people beyond the hardcore bettor.
NBC Sports continues to aggressively pursue ways to cash in on sports betting. Already in the past month, NBC Sports registered sports betting-related web domains and launched a sports betting radio show. Odds on additional moves this quarter are -1500.