In an effort to "break out of the shadow of Disney's
ESPN.com," SportsLine USA "plans to cover popular European
sporting events" and "will work with European bookies to
provide fans with spreads and access to betting sites
through banner ads," according to Bernhard Warner of the
INDUSTRY STANDARD. Warner wrote that while the gambling
areas "could draw fans to SportsLine's European operation
all season long," they might create a "touchy situation" for
the company by "creating the impression of a double
standard" in which the company "avoids any association with
gambling in the [U.S.] but makes it an integral part of
operations in Europe." SportsLine CEO Michael Levy notes
the "great" potential of the bookie business and points out
that Vegas Insider, the betting-spreads site run by
SportsLine, "commands" an advertising rate of $50-per CPM,
while the main part of the SportsLine site has a rate of
$17-22. Levy, on the European site: "We will provide the
odds and analysis and sell ads to the sports books. But
we're definitely not in the gambling business." Though
SportsLine's actions come after it reported a $12.3M second
quarter loss last week and its stock dropped by "more than"
25%, Levy said that the company's stock price was
"irrelevant to the moves overseas" (INDUSTRY STANDARD,
7/28). Yesterday, shares of SportsLine were down 10.5% to
close at 24. Since July 15, when it traded at 40.75,
SportsLine is down 41.1% (THE DAILY).
