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Study Finds 58% of College Students Have Gambled on Sports

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Sports betting is reaching a younger audience in a big way according to a study commissioned by the NCAA. When asked if they had ever placed a bet on a sporting event, 58% responded that they had.

Students that live on campus are even more likely to lay money down. 67% of them said they had placed a bet on sports before.

Advertising is clearly working on this demographic. Of the respondents that live on campus, 63% report having seen sports betting advertising. Overall, 58% of students say that ads make them more likely to gamble and 70% believe that consistent sports gambling is a way to supplement their income.

In recent years, schools have reassessed their relationship with sportsbooks. In fact, the study comes on the heels of Alabama firing baseball coach Brad Bohannon for allegedly providing inside information to a gambler and student-athletes at Iowa and Iowa State were ruled ineligible for placing bets on games.

College sports on TV and radio are havens for sportsbook ads. The NCAA may look to take more steps to address its relationship with gambling, but it is hard to imagine that will change.

The American Gaming Association revealed in February that the US betting market generated $7.5 billion in revenue last year. That is a 75% increase over 2021.

Jay Williams: ‘I’ve Been Forcing Nikola Jokic Into Conversation All Year’

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Jay Williams: ‘I’ve Been Forcing Nikola Jokic Into Conversation All Year’

The city of Denver is locked in on the idea that the entire sports media complex was lined up against the Nuggets and their superstar big man Nikola Jokic in the Western Conference Finals. Jay Williams wants people to know that isn’t true, at least for himself.

Williams talked to The Big Lead’s Liam McKeone at the Sports Business Journal Awards this week. He said fellow Blue Devil and ESPN commentor JJ Redick isn’t the only one that has pointed out that NBA media is too invested in a small handful of teams and stars.

“One of the things I’ve been on the whole year is, I’ve been forcing [Nikola] Jokic into conversations,” he said. “People quickly veer off because not everybody gets a chance to watch it because our primary focus is on star athletes. The Stephs, the LeBrons, the Kevin Durants, the drama. That’s all media.”

The Keyshawn, JWill and Max co-host says that Redick is not alone in his quest to change the way the media covers basketball. He pointed to another great story in the conference finals that former players are doing their best to put at the front of the conversation.

“I think what you have from the athlete side is that we’re trying to celebrate the stories that are worth telling. Like Caleb Martin. The fact that J. Cole got him on the team in Miami. You’re like, ‘Oh, I never knew that!’ but they’ve actually been talking about that all year long. It is a problem but that’s why you have athletes in media trying to change the culture.”

Jay Williams says he has taken a hands-on approach with his own show. He makes it a point to be present for production meetings both before and after the show so that he can have a hand in developing topics.

“I come on, I’m like, here are four or five things that I’m hot about and I want to make sure we’re able to have time to dedicate to that tomorrow,” he said. “Creative input, that’s what the show is all about.”

Darren McKee: Former Players Have To Careful With ‘You Didn’t Play’ Argument

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Darren McKee: Former Players Have To Careful With ‘You Didn’t Play’ Argument

Tuesday’s edition of First Take contained some fireworks between commentators JJ Redick and Stephen A. Smith. The two fiercley debated how the NBA was covered with Redick saying it was a disservice to the league that ESPN only focuses on a handful of teams and Smith arguing that it is a star-driven league and networks are just giving fans what they respond to.

“You didn’t play, Stephen A.,” Redick, a 15-year NBA veteran, said. “You don’t understand athletic mortality [with] three games at whatever… Winston-Salem State doesn’t count.”

“I got you. I understand,” Smith chimed back. “I got a degree and I’m here on TV with you; I must be doing something right.”

Denver Sports 104.3 The Fan’s afternoon program, The Drive, reacted to the light altercation amid the conversation about James. The show is hosted by former defensive end Derek Wolfe and commentator Darren McKee, presenting a similar type of dynamic with a former athlete and bonafide radio professional.

“I do think it can apply in certain circumstances,” McKee said Wednesday regarding former athletes accentuating their experience over all else. “I do think that you guys – ex-pros – I do think you can put it in your back pocket for some circumstances. If you use it all the time, it’s pretty weak.”

Wolfe replied by stating he does not try to use that epithet on the air because it does not make for a fair argument, but did assert that there are instances of events in locker rooms the media would be shocked to discover occur on a daily basis.

“Every day something wild happens,” Wolfe said. “It’s wild.”

While they took little issue with the back-and-forth between Redick and Smith, the part they were surprised about was First Take host Molly Qerim precipitously attempting to resume the conversation about James rather than letting the banter continue. At its core, sports studio shows provide both information and entertainment; however, they felt as if Qerim was acting in a paternal manner towards her colleagues.

“God forbid you have some fun conversation,” McKee said. “‘Oh come on guys. Stop it guys.’ Thanks Molly.”

The two apologized to one another on the air Wednesday to smooth over the situation, and Smith addressed it in detail on his podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show. It is safe to say there is no hostility between the two, and that they will continue providing First Take fans with distinctive commentary. That is – unless Redick is named as the new head coach of the Toronto Raptors, as he reportedly interviewed to fill the vacancy earlier this month.

“I love JJ Redick by the way,” added Wolfe. “…People are seeing him say, ‘You didn’t play,’ but they’re not seeing the part where he took a shot at him to try to get it going.”

Carmen & Jurko: NFL Will Go to ‘Some Podunk Channel’ If They Get $1 Billion

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Carmen & Jurko: NFL Will Go to ‘Some Podunk Channel’ If They Get $1 Billion

Earlier in the week at the NFL Owners Meetings, the competition committee approved flex scheduling for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video. As a result, the company will now have the ability to flex up to two games per season between weeks 13 and 17. Fans will be inconvenienced.

While the NFL is trying to make streaming a part of the normal broadcast landscape ahead of a reported opt-out in its 11-year pact with Amazon, ESPN 1000’s Carmen and Jurko believe the issue stems from a deeper place.

“This is all because Jeff Bezos probably went running to Roger Goodell bitching and complaining about his slate of Thursday night games last year, and how the ratings didn’t come close probably to what they had expected or anticipated,” show co-host Carmen DeFalco said. “And he raised a stink and he’s invested a lot in the league and he’s got a lot of clout and influence, obviously.”

In its first year, Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video averaged 9.58 million viewers. Amazon own metrics alter the average viewership figure to 11.3 million, and six of the 15 games averaged more than 10 million viewers based on the Nielsen data alone. These numbers were down from the 2021 season when games were aired on FOX and NFL Network and attracted an average of 13.33 million viewers per game.

Despite industry executives expressing their satisfaction with the performance of the broadcast property in its first year, they are surely looking for ways to improve in the future. Play-by-play announcer Al Michaels did not hide his dissatisfaction with parts of the schedule last year, but conveyed in an interview with Barrett Sports Media how he was pleased with the production and team the outlet assembled.

The conversation on Chicago sports radio moved to focus on another recent broadcast deal – the NFL and NBCUniversal’s OTT streaming service, Peacock, striking a deal to broadcast an exclusive playoff game for a reported $110 million. To the average sports fan, this latest agreement means they will need to subscribe to yet another streaming service.

“I don’t have Peacock,” said DeFalco. “I don’t pay for that. Not all of us have Peacock. Am I going to miss an NFL playoff game?

“You love Sunday football, Monday Night Football, you love it,” replied show co-host John Jurkovic. “But at what point is it going to be where you’re looking up some podunk channel because the NFL decided to take $1 billion from them?”

Joe Scarborough: DeSantis Announcement Would Have Been Better Served on Cable News

BNM Staff
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Yesterday’s announcement that Ron DeSantis would seek the 2024 Republican presidential nomination was plagued by technical difficulties. MSNBC host Joe Scarborough left questioning the motives of the newly launched campaign.

During Morning Joe Thursday, the former Republican Congressman argued that the two most important days for a political campaign are the launch day and election day, and said it was a botched exercise by the Florida governor.

“It really was an embarrassment for the DeSantis Campaign,” Scarborough said. “They said it broke the internet. They ended up with 200,000 people watching, listening, whatever they were doing.”

Scarborough then turned his attention to the avenue the DeSantis campaign chose to make the announcement. He believed it would have been better served on virtually any other platform.

“If they’d gone on Fox News, they would have had well over a million people. If they’d gone on, well, a lot of cable news shows, they’d have more. On broadcast, they would have had even more people. If they’d gone on some other show…it seems they made the worst overall choice. For a candidate and for Silicon Valley tech titans who hate the mainstream media, who hate ‘wokeness’, and always want to play the aggrieved, it probably worked.”

Laura Ingraham: Twitter Fiasco With Ron DeSantis ‘Has Happened to Me A Lot’

BNM Staff
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Yesterday, Ron DeSantis announced that he would seek the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. It did not go well. The Twitter Spaces room he entered to make the announcement with Twitter owner Elon Musk saw numerous technical difficulties. However, Fox News host Laura Ingraham said she felt empathy for both Musk and DeSantis.

During The Ingraham Angle Wednesday, the Fox News host welcomed venture capitalist David Sacks — who moderated the event — to the show to discuss the announcement and subsequent fiasco.

“Other people would have been really unhappy,” Ingraham said. “This kind of thing has happened to me a lot, David, so I’m kind of laughing. I’m very empathetic when this kind of stuff happens. I’m glad it happens to Elon Musk because he’s a lot smarter than a lot of people like me on technology.”

When asked about the planning for the announcement, Sacks said Twitter had been prepared for any potential issues with the platform.

“Elon and I were together in a conference room at Twitter headquarters,” Sacks said of the Twitter setup for the event. “We’ve never had an event like this on social media where you’ve got literally a million-plus people trying to break down the door to get into a Twitter space. The only real way to really test the scalability of a tech platform is you just get to that next level of scale.”

Sacks joked that “normally it takes a Kardashian” to stress Twitter to the level that the DeSantis announcement did, viewing the situation as a positive for both the Florida Governor and the social media platform.

Dave Portnoy Unsure if Barstool Will Renew His Contract in 2025

BSM Staff
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Penn Entertainment finalized its acquisition of Barstool Sports from The Chermin Group earlier this year for approximately $338 million, bringing with it the loyal, dedicated following of the digital sports and entertainment brand and now, the future of Barstool’s founder, however, is in doubt.

Dave Portnoy recently appeared on The Kirk Minihane Show and expressed uncertainty regarding whether or not he would reach a contract extension with Penn National. He is not sure what the brand’s parent company is thinking regarding his future, and he publicly opposed the firing of Ben Mintz earlier this month.

“Who knows where I’ll be in three [or] four years,” Portnoy said. “I think Dan [Katz], which I would say is very good for Barstool, is clearly locked in for a long time. He’s creating this huge fantasy factory there. I think it’s great for Barstool.”

Barstool Sports has launched a sportsbook that is in the midst of being licensed in different locales around the United States, and Portnoy is aware sports betting is a priority for Penn National over the ensuing years. If his contract was not renewed upon expiration, Portnoy would have to consider several options regarding what to do in the future.

“Would I just do a podcast a week that’s totally unfiltered? Would I enjoy doing that? Maybe,” Portnoy said, noting that his contract expires in a little less than 2 years. “There’s a part of me that thinks I’d be like, ‘Okay, I’m done.’”

One of the things he has considered though is launching a pizza review show on Netflix, perhaps similar to what Anthony Bourdain did during his time as a celebrity chef.

One thing he is not interested in doing is cultivating an entirely new media business, but he genuinely does not know what Penn National is thinking as it pertains to his future with the brand.

Certainly though, Penn National wants to ensure it retains gambling licenses, and having controversial Barstool Sports personalities could at times complicate the situation. Moving on from Portnoy has the potential to redefine the brand itself, something that could ultimately prove harmful in the eyes of its dedicated legion of consumers.

Stephen A. Smith: I Want To Be Considered ‘Greatest TV Talent in History’

BSM Staff
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Stephen A. Smith continues to be one of sports media’s most entertaining and busy personalities in the media. In addition to his work on ESPN and his podcast, he wrote a best-selling book and occasionally appears on General Hospital as an actor. Smith, however, is not satisfied with his accomplishments thus far, and has lofty goals in mind.

“I want to end my career being recognized as arguably the greatest television talent in history,” Smith said on the Tamron Hall Show. “That’s what I want to do. That’s what I want to accomplish.”

Smith recently started his own production company – Mr. SAS Productions – and it has a hand in producing the ESPN alternate telecast titled NBA in Stephen A’s World. His visions, however, penetrate beyond sports, looking for ways to further augment his versatility and fulfill his goals. Smith had previously mentioned running for the U.S. presidency and floated a political future, all while being the featured commentator on his top-rated morning show.

“I’m going to pursue acting,” Smith revealed. “I finally made a decision to do that. That’s something that I want to do because I like portraying other characters and finding myself marrying that character. The challenge of it – because I think it makes me better on television.”

He outlined his journey to working at ESPN and becoming one of the most popular sports media personalities in his book, and has spoken about it on many occasions. During his interview with Tamron Hall, she quotes something he told Vanity Fair about his formative years and how he cultivated the knowledge to work in sports media.

“I couldn’t rap. I wasn’t a good enough basketball player. I wasn’t a good enough athlete, or an artist where thousands of people are packing in an arena to watch me,” Smith said in the previous interview. “But I learned to read and write and comprehend, and I scratched, not clawed, and I worked my ass off.”

Dana Bash Moderating CNN Town Hall with Mike Pence

BNM Staff
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Dana Bash Moderating CNN Town Hall with Mike Pence

CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash has been tapped to moderate a live CNN town hall with former Vice President Mike Pence.

Originating from Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, Pence will sit down with Bash on Wednesday, June 7th as CNN continues to host Republican hopefuls for the 2024 presidential nomination.

The announcement that Pence will be participating in the town hall comes as a slight surprise. Pence has yet to publicly confirm or deny if he’ll be seeking the Republican nomination, only noting that if he had an announcement to make, he would do it “before late June”.

The event with the former Vice President will be the third in what CNN is calling “expansive coverage of the 2024 election”. The network announced yesterday it would host former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in an Iowa town hall on Sunday, June 4th. That event will be moderated by Jake Tapper.

CNN previously hosted former President Donald Trump for a town hall event moderated by Kaitlan Collins. The presentation was widely criticized as Collins repeatedly attempted to fact-check Trump, before he ultimately called her a “nasty person”. An average audience of more than 3 million watched the town hall.

John Catsimatidis: ‘I Believe In Getting The Truth Out’

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John Catsimatidis: ‘I Believe In Getting The Truth Out’

Since purchasing 77 WABC, John Catsimatidis has returned the New York news/talk station to prominence.

During an interview with RAB President and CEO Erica Farber for the Radio on Main Street podcast, Catsimatidis discussed a wide variety of topics. When asked why he purchased the station, he said the reasoning was simple.

“I believe in getting the truth out,” Catsimatidis said. “WABC is one of the most powerful stations now on the East Coast. We have a lot of listeners and getting the truth out and letting people understand what’s going on in our city, our state, our country… is very important.”

The Red Apple Media owner went as far as to claim he has fired people for not telling the truth, saying his edict to each host on the station is “You better tell the truth”.

“He twisted around the truth, and I don’t go for that crap,” Catsimatidis said of his ex-employee.

Joining Catsimatidis in the interview was Red Apple Media President Chad Lopez, who said he questioned Catsimatidis when he wanted to remove all the brokered weekend shows from the schedule — which brought in $2.7 million in revenue — and staff it with live and local personalities.

“You could imagine my VP of Sales and myself saying, ‘John, are you sure we’re going to do this?’” joked Lopez.

“We got rid of all the lawyers, accountants, financial advisors… all the con artists,” said Catsimatidis. “And now we have real people. We’re live almost 24/7.”

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