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BetMGM Taps ESPN's Ryan Spoon As New Chief Operating Officer

Spoon is a two-time SBJ "Forty Under 40" honoree who expanded the ESPN brand on non-ESPN platformsESPN IMAGES

BetMGM hired ESPN Senior VP/Social & Digital Content RYAN SPOON to be COO, a role which will see him report to CEO ADAM GREENBLATT. Spoon, who starts Nov. 16, will be based in New Jersey. BetMGM has established relationships with several leagues and teams. Spoon will be tasked with growing BetMGM’s social and digital platforms. “A lot of my time will be spent around where I spent a lot of time during my early days at ESPN -- product and technology and operations,” Spoon told THE DAILY. “In the early going, it’s going to be about understanding the space and understanding the business. I’m going to dig into some of the product and the construction side."

SPOON'S LEGACY AT ESPN: Spoon was one of ESPN's top digital execs, reporting to Exec VP/Content CONNOR SCHELL. ESPN said it would announce how it plans to replace Spoon in the coming weeks. A two-time SBJ "Forty Under 40" honoree, Spoon oversaw ESPN’s push to expand its brand on non-ESPN platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok. Earlier this year, Spoon brought OMAR RAJA over from House of Highlights to run ESPN’s “SportsCenter” Instagram feed. “I think a lot about what we do off platform,” he said. “Those are fast growing businesses for us.”

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