The ESPN BET Logo Has Been Unveiled!
Later this year, The Walt Disney Company will dive head first into the sports gambling industry with the launch of ESPN BET.
The new sportsbook is the result of a multi-billion dollar agreement between ESPN and PENN Entertainment.
While ESPN is now set to fully embrace gambling, it has taken a long time for Disney to come around to the idea.
Disney’s Was Hesitant To Enter Sports Gambling
The Walt Disney Company, and particularly CEO Bob Iger, had long winced at the idea of the family-friendly brand being associated with gambling.
Photo: Disney CEO Bob Iger (Getty Images)
As societal attitudes towards sports gambling continued to improve, however, Iger could no longer resist. Even prior to the PENN deal, Iger was calling an infusion of gambling into ESPN an inevitability.
Photo:GETTY IMAGES FOR ESPN
“I think that’s important for consumers, particularly young consumers. I mentioned earlier in another meeting, I have two sons who are 24 and 20. And it’s not just about fantasy sports, but they’re interested in it. And I prefer to wait as long as possible. I think it’s inevitable that there’ll be basically seamlessness between sports programming and sports betting,” he said.
Bob Iger Changes His Tune
By 2022, Iger admitted that while he was still more conservative on the issue, he no longer felt that Disney would be betraying its values by entering into the sports gambling sphere.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“But I’ve changed because I think the acceptance of sports betting has grown significantly. And my desire is to see that the company continues to serve its consumers well. Without us really, I think, distancing ourselves from values, because we’re not actually causing the bets to be made. We’re just enabling people to link to companies that do that. I don’t think it’s an issue.”
Introducing ESPN BET
Then came the blockbuster August announcement that PENN would pay ESPN roughly 2 billion dollars “in exchange for media, marketing services, brand and other rights provided by ESPN.”
Photo: CNBC
With the creation of ESPN Bet, the worldwide leader in sports was not just entering the gambling sphere, it was looking to dominate it.
The ESPN BET Logo Revealed
With ESPN BET set to launch in November, today, the worldwide leader in sports unveiled the sportsbook’s official logo.
Photo: ESPN
According to ESPN, “The brand itself features the universally recognizable ‘ESPN,’ while the sportsbook app will be branded an ‘E’ in the ‘B,’ which creatively expresses the idea that ESPN, in partnership with PENN Entertainment, is launching a sportsbook for fans, but at its core is still ESPN, the most trusted brand in sports.”
The mint color used throughout the logo was also chosen to be welcoming, inclusive, and fun.
Photo: ESPN
While the new logo looks great, ESPN BET’s success or failure will be determined by the speed of the app, the lines, and the promos. Hopefully, ESPN and Penn will hit a home run.
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