Turner Sports is making its first foray into the gambling arena, signing a deal with Caesars Entertainment that will lead to the production of gambling-related content. As part of the deal, Turner will set up a Bleacher Report-branded studio inside Caesar’s sportsbook in Las Vegas that will be open to the public. “This will give an authentic, real feeling toward the content that will be created,” Turner Sports President Lenny Daniels said. “This leaves open the door to do a lot of things.” The B/R studio will be up and running in the next few months, Daniels said. Programming that comes from the Vegas-based studio will be distributed though Bleacher Report, the B/R app and other Turner Sports platforms.
Daniels said Turner does not have specific plans about the type of gambling content it will produce from the studio. He added that the current crop of gambling-related content lacks a storytelling component that he thinks is necessary for it to become popular. "We’re trying to figure out how to combine storytelling with numbers," he said. "We want engagement. Engagement drives viewership.” As part of the deal, Caesars will be the presenting sponsor for programming that appears on Turner’s linear networks, and it has the option to co-produce some programming with Turner.
