DraftKings will now try its hand at live streaming sports. The daily fantasy sports giant announced Tuesday that users will be able to live stream select EuroLeague Basketball games through its app, marking the company’s inaugural foray into the streaming world.
Starting in 2018, users in the U.S. and Canada will have access to one free game per week, or more if they enter a contest of $3 or greater.
Combining fantasy contests and live content, the hope for DraftKings is to become a one-stop shop for sports fans. Within a single app you’ll be able to watch live games and follow your daily, hand-picked EuroLeague fantasy team while it accumulates points. Contests for EuroLeague will use the same scoring format as the NBA and will be available starting Nov. 14.
“I think the consumer of the future — really of today — but especially in the future, they’re going to want everything integrated,” DraftKings co-founder and CEO Jason Robins said at Web Summit. “They don’t want to have to click around a bunch of different places, enter their information in multiple times…everything’s going to need to be mobile-driven.”
With both entities in the process of trying new things, the partnership makes sense. While DraftKings tries out streaming, EuroLeague will have an opportunity to showcase its product to an audience that may not have previously been exposed to it.
Robins elaborated, saying, “If we can prove that by doing this we can take an audience in the U.S. that’s playing NBA or other sports and introduce them to EuroLeague, get them to watch the games, get them engaged with the sport — I think that that’s a really powerful case study for taking it to other leagues and broadcast partners.”
DraftKings is essentially using the EuroLeague deal as a proving grounds for other rights holders that may want to partner in the future.
“We are proud to be breaking new ground with such a forward-thinking partner as DraftKings,” Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO, said in a statement. “Combining fantasy with live-streamed games is a perfect match, not only for the countless passionate EuroLeague fans we have already, but for the many new ones who will now discover our unique brand of basketball through DraftKings.”
