Sports Betting Promises Big Changes for RSNs Regional sports networks are positioned to take advantage of new opportunities By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, July 16, 2019 - 10:00 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
The U.S. sports-betting landscape is in the midst of a radical transformation following the 2018 Supreme Court decision that allowed sportsbooks across the country. Eight states currently allow sports betting, and another five are poised to allow it. And, although 18 states have rejected gambling legislation, there is plenty of interest among the others.
Sports betting has moved from taboo to mainstream, said Shawn Oleksiak, VP/EP, live events, NBC Sports Philadelphia. It's here, it's not going away, and it's big money.
The questions facing the industry are numerous, but there are some key things broadcast networks looking to be successful will need to address. Many of those things were addressed during a sports-gambling panel at the recent SVG RSN Summit in Denver (Colorado voters will vote on the matter in November). Here's a look at advice and observations offered.
Start Your Strategic Conversations Early
Oleksiak said his team has been discussing how to approach gambling-related content on a daily basis since 2018. Serving three states - New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware - that have passed gambling legislation, the network wanted to make sure it was ready.
From left: STATS' Aaron Charlton, NBC Sports Philadelphia's Shawn Oleksiak, and VSiN's Stephan Shelanski at SVG's RSN Summit in Denver
The result is a new viewer experience that takes a clean feed of the telecast and adds graphics offering various sports-betting odds and events. It was rolled out for Philadelphia 76er regular-season and playoff games beginning in March.
We also had separate talent and, for the entire game, added graphics like the over/under, the spread, and others during each quarter, Oleksiak said.
The chemistry of the talent matters, and great content will be very important. It needs to be fun, accurate, and timely, and things like latency are going to be a big issue to be overcome.
The tone of the talent has to be that the game is a backdrop that can't be ignored or disrespected, Oleksiak advised. They are still doing a game, and the storylines will change every play.
Stephan Shelanski, EVP, distribution and strategy, VSiN (Vegas Stats & Information Network), discussed VSiN's efforts as, currently, the only dedicated 24-hour live sports-betting channel. Veteran sports broadcaster Brent Musburger hosts a three-hour show Monday to Friday that embraces sports betting and leverages his decades of experience.
A lot of people watched football and liked to bet on sports, Shelanski said, but Brent saw they wanted more info and wanted to launch a channel that would give people who are interested in sports betting all of the data and analytics they would want. And our studio is in Las Vegas at a 24-hour sportsbook, so it's like CNBC being on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. It gives us access to talent like the guys who are the originators of the betting lines, and they can explain why the spread was the way it was and where the money is going.
He gave one bit of advice: avoid touts and focus instead on information and statistics that can help bettors make more-informed bets. Often, touts are simply selling their own picks, and the goal is to make sure you build a relationship with viewers that increases their trust in the talent, who delivers honest, timely, and unbiased information.
RSNs Are Poised To Lead the Industry
National sports networks are offering sports-gambling programs, but, with betting still not legal across the entire nation, those efforts have been limited. However, an RSN whose core audience is in a market with legalized gambling is primed to exploit new opportunities.
Regional sports networks are in a wonderful position to tailor content to the fan base, said Shelanski. On a regional basis, there is so much activity and more passion for sports betting. And then, you can tailor things like the line in your region and take advantage of that. There is great upside.
In terms of programming strategies Shelanski said that bettors are always wanting to look forward and to the next game.
They aren't too interested in dwelling and seeing highlights, he said. They want as much information they can get and as early as they can get it. And they also want the first shot at things like football lines when they are announced on a Sunday, as there are opportunities there before the lines adjust as bets come in. It's very similar to a stock market where sharp bettors can glean information.
Be Sure To Meet the Needs of Both Pros and Joes'
One challenge is figuring out how to produce a broadcast that teaches the vernacular (terms like over/under, point spread, and push) to sports-betting newcomers but doesn't turn off the seasoned sports bettor. Lower-third graphics can go a long way towards quickly educating the newbie without losing the experts. And the tone of the talent and the excitement they bring to the broadcast can make both pros and joes feel comfortable.
Sportradar's Steve Byrd: You need to make the programming as broad as possible and have to be on top of everything for pros. That can get very complicated, but you need to educate the average bettor as well.
Steve Byrd, head of global strategic partnerships, Sportradar, noted that serving both requires a fine balance.
You need to make the programming as broad as possible and have to be on top of everything for pros, as they will catch you if you get something wrong, he said. You have to be on your game but also broadly appealing for people who are just starting. You need to go very deep. That can get
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
22/10/2025
Prime Video Inks Deal To Present NFL Black Friday Game Worldwide By SVG Staff
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 - 10:06 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story ...
22/10/2025
NBA Tip-Off: ESPN Goes 1080p HDR End-to-End, Flipping HDR Switch on REMI and REM...
22/10/2025
FloSports Empowers Division II, III Athletic Departments With Turnkey Production...
22/10/2025
Wall Street Video Summit Debuts, Bringing Together 200 Financial Enterprise Vide...
22/10/2025
Dueling Pianos: International Chopin Piano Competition Is as Competitive as a Ba...
22/10/2025
In 1995, a young Colombian artist released an album that would change Latin pop ...
22/10/2025
Over the past few months, a photovoltaic system has been installed on a three-he...
22/10/2025
The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis II mission is stacked on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kenn...
22/10/2025
L3Harris' Hybrid SATCOM is resilient by design, offering path diversity that eliminates vulnerabilities by routing data across the best available networks i...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C. Organizers of NAB Show New York said they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countries along with 260 exhibitor...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, supplied an extensive gear package of professional-grade equipment for ...
22/10/2025
Lightware, a global leader in signal management and AV connectivity solutions, is seeing strong market momentum for the UCX-3x3-TPX-RX20, a compact transmitter-...
22/10/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron has released PAINT 10.2, the latest update for its telestration platform, adding support for SMPTE ST 2110 IP workflows, expanding brandin...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON Run3TV today said NBCUniversal is joining as an investor in the ATSC 3.0 Framework Authority, which develops the Run3TV NextGen TV application platfo...
22/10/2025
ATLANTA swXtch.io will feature two new networking solutions extending the company's reach across more cloud and on-prem workflows at NAB Show New York, set ...
22/10/2025
The Warner Bros. Discoverys HBO Max streaming services has increased prices for all its streaming tiers effectively immediately for new customers. Existing cust...
22/10/2025
LOS ANGELES OpenDrives has signed a new distribution partnership deal with Versatile Distribution Services (VDS) to strengthen its channel and streamline how it...
22/10/2025
WASHINGTON, D.C The organizers of The 2025 NAB Show New York have announced that they are expecting more than 12,000 registered attendees from about 100 countr...
22/10/2025
Samora Pinderhughes Brings Immersive Sound to Berklee's Signature Series The artist and composer, who's worked with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Co...
22/10/2025
BMI Day at Berklee Celebrates Composer Fil Eisler and Awards Scholarship to Stud...
22/10/2025
October 22nd, 2025 TRIBECA ANNOUNCES STAR-STUDDED LINEUP OF MEMBERSHIP EVENTS F...
22/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF cooperate in drone defense Rohde & Schwarz and TRUMPF partner to deliver a comprehensive drone defense solution combining Rohde & S...
22/10/2025
European Broadcaster Upgrades To Grass Valley's NativeIP LDX 135 Cameras And...
22/10/2025
Everyone Gets a Better Deal on Verizon with New FOX One Perk The $15 FOX One streaming service perk is yet another way Verizon continues to add savings for cu...
22/10/2025
First Look Hidden Assets Series 3
Premieres on 9th November 9:30pm on RT One & RT Player
WATCH HERE Promo Link: Hidden Assets Series 3 | RT
The Crimin...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Although AES Show Is on Its Own, Audio Will Be a Major Part o...
21/10/2025
NAB New York 2025: Business of Broadcast and Media,' Future of Content'...
21/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Ethan Folz, Senior Director, Digital Operations and Quality of Ex...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: Livestream Offers Graphic Overlays, Predictive Gaming, Ancil...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: At the Front Bench With Producer Frank DiGraci and Director ...
21/10/2025
NBA on NBC/Peacock: NBC Sports, NEP Build Ultra-Flexible Production Plan That Se...
21/10/2025
Indigenous storytelling has been at the heart of the work of the Sundance Instit...
21/10/2025
Top L-R: Mysterious Skin, American Dream Second Row L-R: Little Miss Sunshine, D...
21/10/2025
Last week, Spotify and Columbia Records transformed Pier 4 at the Brooklyn Army ...
21/10/2025
SBS Learn's Dharug Ngurra resource empowers classrooms to meaningfully celeb...
21/10/2025
As global operators simplify and evolve their digital platforms, NPS improvement...
21/10/2025
Critical Design Review completion is a key milestone on the path toward Wideband Global Satellite Communications certification for the network in 2026, opening ...
21/10/2025
New Australian undersea training range to implement and improve warfighting tactics, proficiency and safety; enable joint/allied training that contributes to pr...
21/10/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
21/10/2025
September, the beginning of autumn, brought an expected revival to the TV market, largely due to the new fall TV schedules. The time spent in front of the TV sc...
21/10/2025
Broadcast Booms with 20% Uptick vs. August, Achieving Largest Monthly
Increase ...
21/10/2025
During September, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.5%, a marginal shift of -0.5 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YU...
21/10/2025
RENNES, France BBright and GlobalM have conducted a technical trial validating Ultra HD interoperability across the entire contribution chain in the cloud, achi...
21/10/2025
Kokusai Denki Electric America will mark the U.S. debut of a new 4K camera at the 2025 NAB New York, Oct. 22-23. Now available, the Z-HD6500-S1 UHD/HD productio...
21/10/2025
Triveni Digital, a trusted leader in ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 service delivery, data broadcasting, and quality assurance solutions, will showcase its entire NEXTGEN TV ...
21/10/2025
Radio Azzurra FM, longest-running radio station in the province of Novara, northwest Italy, has invested in an DHD SX2 audio routing and mixing console for inte...
21/10/2025
Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, has announced the appointment of G Morgan as Executive Vice President of...
Sports Betting Promises Big Changes for RSNs Regional sports networks are positioned to take advantage of new opportunities By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
