It wasn’t a mob movie, but Disney CEO Bob Iger still received an offer he couldn’t refuse when it came to forming ESPN Bet.
Speaking with analysts on the company’s quarterly earnings call Wednesday, Iger said the $2 billion-plus deal with PENN Entertainment to create the new ESPN-branded sports betting service came down to overwhelming economics — and a desire to drive additional reach and consumption on ESPN platforms.
“We believe there’s an opportunity to significantly grow engagement across ESPN consumers, particularly young consumers,” Iger said. “And why PENN? Because PENN stepped up in a very aggressive way and made an offer to us that was better than any of the competitive offers — by far.”
