For the first time, ESPN’s sports betting-focused show Daily Wager will provide an alternate presentation for an NBA game on Wednesday when the Brooklyn Nets play the Philadelphia 76ers.
While the game is being broadcasted from Philadelphia on ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN2 will both carry Daily Wager Special, which is ESPN’s first alternate presentation that is fully driven by sports betting content.
Broadcasting from ESPN’s studios in Las Vegas, Daily Wager Special will feature regular commentators from ESPN’s sports betting news and information program Daily Wager, including sports betting analysts Doug Kezirian, Joe Fortenbaugh, and Tyler Fulghum. ESPN NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins will also contribute to the coverage.
In addition to the alternate presentation of the game, ESPN+ and ESPN2 will carry a Daily Wager Special pregame show 15 minutes before tipoff, as well as a halftime show.
Daily Wager Special coverage highlights:
- Game telecast: discussion about game action in relation to pregame odds (tracking closing lines for spread, total, and props), tracking live odds (spread, total), discussion on futures (NBA MVP, conference odds, NBA Finals odds), and updates from other games being played.
- Pregame show: commentators to make pregame predictions and discuss game storylines.
- Halftime show: discussion of graded bets, second-half betting preview, and updates on games around the league.
- Custom graphics.
Last September, ESPN moved Daily Wager, hour-long betting news and information program, to the network’s new studio at the Linq Resort on the Las Vegas Strip. The 6,000-square-foot-facility includes three studios and features 12 cameras, including two exterior robotic cameras.
ESPN said it would center its sports wagering programming from Las Vegas.
The main studio looks out onto the Las Vegas Strip with Linq’s sister property, Caesars Palace, across Las Vegas Boulevard.
Kezirian, who spent seven years as a sports anchor for the ABC affiliate in Las Vegas before joining ESPN in 2012 as an anchor on SportsCenter, said the audience tunes into Daily Wager because he and his fellow hosts and analysts discuss information about the upcoming games.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
