The Score Sports Betting

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About: TheSpread.com is the largest sports betting news site in the United States. We provide point spread news, odds, statistics and information to over 175 countries around the world each year. Our coverage includes all North American College and Professional Sports as well as entertainment, political and proposition wagering news. Score Media and Gaming Inc. Empowers millions of sports fans through its digital media and sports betting products. Its media app ‘ theScore ' is one of the most popular in North America.

Score Media and Gaming Inc. is a publicly traded digital media company based in Toronto, Canada. It was founded in 2012 by John S. Levy, the company's current Chief Executive Officer and Chairman.^[1] The company owns and operates digital sports media and sports betting products which deliver sports scores, data, news, and sportsbook offerings via emerging and established platforms. The company also previously owned The Score Television Network, which was acquired by Rogers Communications in October 2012 and is today known as Sportsnet 360. The transaction did not include theScore's digital media assets, including its mobile apps and websites.^[2]

The company was spun-out from Score Media immediately prior to Rogers' acquisition. As a result of the transaction, former shareholders of Score Media received one share of the new company for each share held in Score Media, meaning that Score Media founder John Levy and family are the largest single voting shareholders in the company, as was the case with Score Media, though Rogers received additional shares yielding an ownership stake of 11.8%.^[3] Rogers subsequently sold its shares in theScore in June 2014.^[4]

As of Q1 F2020 (Aug-Nov 2019), theScore's mobile sports media application was used by an average of 4.3 million monthly active users worldwide, 62% of which were in the United States, 27% in Canada and 11% in other international markets.^[5] The company is publicly traded and was listed on the TSX Venture Exchange until September 2020 when it was promoted to the Toronto Stock Exchange.^[6]

Products[edit]

theScore[edit]

‘theScore' media app was launched in 2007 as the company's first venture into the mobile app industry.^[7] It has since become one of the most popular multi-sport news apps in North America with approximately 4-5 million active users. Available on iOS and Android, the app delivers sports content through a combination of real-time news, scores, stats, and videos for all major leagues, including the National Football League, NCAA Football and Basketball, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, PGA Golf, NASCAR Racing, Major League Soccer, major European soccer leagues, and more.^[8] News stories published to the app are produced by a combination of the theScore's mobile-first newsroom, where a team of editors across North America create content via a content management system that delivers news directly to users' mobile devices. Primary sections on theScore app include ‘News', ‘Scores', ‘Favorites', and ‘Discover'.

theScore Bet[edit]

theScore's mobile sportsbook offering launched in the United States on September 3rd, 2019, marking the first time that a media company in North America had created and operated a mobile sportsbook in the United States.^[9]

Anyone physically located in the United States is able to download the theScore Bet app with wagering supported for those physically located inside the states of New Jersey, Colorado, and Indiana. ^[10]

In May 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, an act that largely outlawed sports betting in the United States. theScore came out in support of the Supreme Court ruling, where Levy stated in a press release: 'We've been watching this space for some time and eagerly anticipating this ruling. The ruling unlocks exciting opportunities and we are uniquely positioned to deliver amazing fan experiences on mobile and in-game as the betting market develops.'^[11]

On December 18, 2018, theScore became the first media company to announce plans to launch a mobile sportsbook in the United States after securing market access through an official licensing partnership with Darby Development LLC, the operator behind the New Jersey-based Monmouth Park Racetrack. The partnership paved the way for theScore to offer online and mobile sports betting across the state of New Jersey.^[12]

In August 2019, theScore and Penn National Gaming, the largest regional gaming operator in the United States, entered into a strategic multi-state market access framework agreement, providing theScore the rights to obtain online and mobile sports wagering in an additional 11 states.^[13]

In September 2019, theScore launched theScore Bet in New Jersey under its market access agreement with Darby Development LLC, the operator of Monmouth Park Racetrack. ^[14]

theScore esports[edit]

Launched in 2015, is theScore's online platform dedicated to reporting news for all major competitive video games and players.^[15] Its primary distribution platform for content is YouTube, and in November 2019, the channel surpassed over one million total subscribers on the platform, making it the leading source for competitive gaming coverage.^[16] The channel's rapid growth is a part of the company's broader strategy to unsilo^{[clarification needed]} the esports industry through a wide range of content offerings. As of December 2020, theScore esports YouTube channel had more than 1.5 million subscribers.

Emerging Platforms[edit]

In 2017, theScore launched new skills for Amazon's virtual Assistant, Alexa, to deliver sports news and updates on command. The capabilities for Alexa – known as ‘skills' – include daily ‘flash briefings' for theScore and theScore esports, offering a two-minute audio summary of all the major headlines that matter. Fans with an Alexa device can select theScore as their flash briefing and ask 'Alexa – what's in the news?' and theScore will deliver a comprehensive audio sports briefing.^[17]

In 2018, theScore extended its virtual assistant capabilities with its launch on Bixby, the virtual assistant developed by Samsung Electronics. Users across the United States on select Samsung Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy S9 and S9+, can now receive personalized live scores and breaking news on their Bixby Home. By simply swiping right on their home screen to the Bixby Home service, the integration provides fans the ability to view theScore's sports headlines for a wide-range of sports, including the FIFA World Cup, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and EPL. If users want access to deeper information beyond a score or news headline, they can tap on theScore's content card on Bixby to be taken to theScore app, if already installed on their device. ^[18]

Social Audience[edit]

theScore employs a dedicated team of social media editors, content creators, and curators, who are responsible for sharing content through social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other third party platforms. In Q1 F2020, theScore's social content reached nearly 97 million users a month across its social media platforms.^[19]

In 2018, theScore expanded its content strategy by collaborating with pop culture figures and major sports athletes, focusing on telling the stories of their personal and professional triumphs. theScore premiered their new strategy with an 11-minute feature on NBA star, Lance Stephenson. The video received media coverage across major news platforms including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, USA Today, and others, recording approximately 80 million earned media impressions. That year, theScore was named a finalist for Social Media Team of the Year in the annual Digiday Awards.^[20]

Since theScore expanded its content strategy, other athletes and celebrities, including Austin Rivers, Burna Boy, Enes Kanter, Diamond Dallas Page, Steve Nash, and Marshawn Lynch, have been exclusively featured across its social channels. For its viral piece titled ‘Enes the Menace' starring NBA centre Enes Kanter and WWE Hall-of-Famer Diamond Dallas Page, theScore was named as a finalist for the Cynopsis Model D Award of Best Documentary.^[21]

Team[edit]

Leadership[edit]

John Levy, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer[edit]

John is a media industry entrepreneur, growing his family's small cable business into one of the 10 largest distributors in the country before founding theScore. In October 2012, John and his team structured and executed the sale of Score Media's television assets to Rogers Media and the spin-out of Score Media's digital assets into a new entity – theScore, Inc. This allowed John and his team to focus on growing theScore's mobile platforms, including its flagship app ‘theScore' and recently launched U.S. mobile sportsbook, ‘theScore Bet'. ^[22]

Benjie Levy, President & Chief Operating Officer[edit]

Benjie oversees the development and execution of theScore's business strategy and has been instrumental in shaping its digital media offerings, including the creation and launch of theScore's mobile apps. A graduate of the University of Toronto with a B.Com specializing in Finance, Benjie began his career as an investment banker in the Communications and Media group at BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto, prior to joining theScore in 2001. ^[22]

Board of Directors[edit]

• John Levy - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, theScore Media and Gaming Inc.
• Ralph E. Lean, Q.C. - Counsel, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
• Benjamin D. Levy - President and Chief Operating Officer, theScore Media and Gaming Inc.
• John Albright - Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Relay Ventures
• Brian Cooper - Chairman, MKTG
• Angela Ruggiero - CEO and Co-Founder, Sports Innovation Lab
• Mark A. Scholes - Partner, Weisz, Rocchi & Scholes
• William E. Thomson - Managing Partner, Mercana Growth Partners
• Lou Serafini Jr. (observer) - President and CEO, Fengate Asset Management

Headquarters[edit]

Score Media and Gaming Inc. is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, along King Street West. The facility, totaling approximately 30,881 square feet, houses the company's corporate, administration, sales and production teams; which, in total, consist of over 200 full-time employees. All employees working out of the Toronto office have access to a wide selection of free amenities, some of which include; a gym, two fully stocked kitchens, ping pong and foosball tables, and collaborative work spaces. theScore also maintains offices in Hamilton, Ontario which is partially owned by John Levy, the company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. This facility, totaling approximately 1,500 square feet, contains an executive office.^[8] It also maintains offices in New York City, New York, in a shared work space for the company's U.S. based employees who are engaged in sales, marketing, and business development.

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History[edit]

Sportscope[edit]

Launched in 1994 as Sportscope, theScore originally began as a network focusing on providing sports scores, airing in seven Canadian provinces. Sportscope's programming consisted solely of an alphanumeric text rotation of sports scores, news, and sports betting information, which aired alongside local and national advertising slides. As it did not include any video content, it did not require a CRTC licence.

Headline Sports[edit]

Sportscope was granted an English-language specialty channel licence by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on September 4, 1996, provisionally titled 'Sportscope Plus'. The channel was launched in May 1997 as 'Headline Sports' and was a national 24-hour anchor-at-desk sports information service.^[23] Advertising was also introduced, something that did not exist during the Sportscope era. The oldies music was replaced by modern stock music during text rotation of sports scores and news. The channel also contained a constantly updated ticker at the bottom of the screen, providing sports news and scores, as it still does today, per its CRTC licence requirements. There were plans to air different tickers in each region of the country and additional streams of alphanumeric data (perhaps via an alternate channel) when the channel was launched, but those plans were abandoned.

theScore[edit]

In March 2000, Headline Sports' licence was amended by the CRTC to allow live sports programming, under the conditions that the channel display the ticker and that breaks away from live coverage occur at least once every 15 minutes to present video highlights. As a result of this – the channel was rebranded as 'theScore Television Network' that year. On June 6, 2006, theScore revamped its ticker, alongside the launch of a new HD channel. On September 20, 2011, Score Media announced that it would put theScore Television Network up for sale.^[24]

Purchase by Rogers[edit]

In August 2012, Rogers Communications, owners of the competing network Sportsnet, acquired theScore's parent company with Score Media retaining all of the company's digital assets.^[25]

References[edit]

1. ^'TheScore founder John Levy on growing up in the family business'. www.canadianbusiness.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
2. ^'Rogers will only have small stake in Score Media's digital growth'.
3. ^'Score Media Inc. completes plan of arrangement | theScore App: The Ultimate, Personalized Mobile Sports Experience'. mobile.thescore.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
4. ^'Are you owned by Rogers Media?'. theScore. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
5. ^https://mobile.thescore.com/2020/01/thescore-reports-q1-f2020-financial-results/
6. ^'Score Media and Gaming gets full listing at TSX'. National Post. September 14, 2020.
7. ^'Score Media launches ScoreMobile 2.0 | theScore App: The Ultimate, Personalized Mobile Sports Experience'. mobile.thescore.com. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
8. ^ ^ab'Annual Information Form for the year ended August 31, 2018'(PDF). mobile.thescore.com. October 17, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
9. ^'Introducing theScore Bet'. Score Media and Gaming. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
10. ^https://mobile.thescore.com/2020/09/thescore-bet-continues-multi-state-expansion-with-indiana-launch/
11. ^'theScore Supports Supreme Court Ruling on Sports Betting in the U.S.'mobile.thescore.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
12. ^'theScore Announces Plans to Launch Mobile Sportsbook in New Jersey'. mobile.thescore.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
13. ^'theScore and Penn National Gaming Enter into Strategic Multi-State Market Access Partnership'. mobile.thescore.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
14. ^https://mobile.thescore.com/2019/09/introducing-thescore-bet-thescores-mobile-sportsbook-launches-in-new-jersey/
15. ^'Introducing 'theScore eSports' – The Ultimate Mobile eSports Experience | theScore App: The Ultimate, Personalized Mobile Sports Experience'. mobile.thescore.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
16. ^'theScore esports YouTube Channel Reaches One Million Subscribers'. mobile.thescore.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
17. ^'theScore announces Amazon Alexa flash briefing skills to deliver sports updates | theScore App: The Ultimate, Personalized Mobile Sports Experience'. mobile.thescore.com. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
18. ^'theScore on Bixby to provide Live Sports Scores and News to Sports Fans Across the United States'. mobile.thescore.com. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
19. ^'theScore Reports Q1 F2020 Financial Results'. mobile.thescore.com. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
20. ^Adams, Jessica (October 9, 2018). 'Havas, Arby's and Carat lead the Digiday Awards finalists'. Digiday. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
21. ^'Best Documentary - MODEL D AND 'IT' LIST AWARDS 2019'. Cynopsis Media. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
22. ^ ^ab'About Us | theScore App: The Ultimate, Personalized Mobile Sports Experience'. mobile.thescore.com. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
23. ^'Canadian Trademarks Details 0832430-0 – Canadian Trademarks Database – Intellectual property and copyright – Canadian Intellectual Property Office – Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'.Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
24. ^'Specialty sports channel The Score for sale'. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
25. ^'CNW | Rogers Media to Acquire theScore Television Network'. www.newswire.ca. Retrieved December 5, 2018.

In a way, sports betting has run through the veins of theScore since its genesis.

So it seems appropriate for the Toronto-based media company to become a sports betting provider.

On Tuesday, theScore announced it had partnered with New Jersey racetrack Monmouth Park and with technology provider Bet.Works.

As a result, theScore has set itself up to join an ever-expanding NJ sports betting market with a target launch of mid-2019.

'Even before PASPA was repealed, there was a lot of discussion internally about what the right way in that environment would be for us to take the next step,' Benjie Levy, COO of theScore, said in a phone interview.

'Lots of media companies talk about becoming affiliates. There's other types of partnerships you can look at. … When we were assessing those options and looking at what the best role was for our user base in that context, any time we looked at anything short of becoming an operator seemed like it was less fulfilling of an opportunity. Like we'd be leaving something on the table.'

Merging media with sports betting business

Before the internet transformed the way in which the world disseminates information, theScore was around.

Though its mobile app debuted in 2007, theScore was once a cable network in Canada.

A bottom-of-the-screen ticker scrolled scores even during commercials. Oldies music serenaded viewers of the channel, then known as Headline Sports.

Since then, theScore, which sold its TV network to Rogers Communications, has become a go-to source for sports information. For the past 10 years, theScore has gained traction in the US, where, according to Levy, two-thirds of the company's users live.

Now, theScore is taking its next step, a 'natural next phase,' according to a statement from company founder and CEO John Levy, Benjie's father.

'This is a transformational moment for theScore, becoming the first media company in North America to announce its plans to launch online and mobile sports betting in the United States.'

'Gaming's always been part of our DNA,' Benjie Levy said. 'Our view is that gambling is just another part of the sports experience.'

Fan engagement tops all else

A company that provides sports scores and news via its mobile app and website, theScore began considering entering the sports betting space since before PASPAwas repealed in May.

Internal conversations ramped up over the summer, leading to theScore bringing in David Wang, an iGaming veteran formerly with Wynn Resorts and MGM, as a senior advisor in August.

Interestingly, Wang also serves as the CEO and founder of Bet.Works. With Wang, theScore began exploring 'opportunities in sports betting,' according to John Levy.

During the past few months, theScore started building the pillars of becoming a sports betting operator. And on Tuesday, the company announced its partnerships: Monmouth Park (which also boasts William Hill NJ as a partner) and Bet.Works.

Media + sports betting

When theScore does roll out its product, which will be featured in a sportsbook app as well as a browser, it will tap into its standing as a media provider integrating sports betting rather than the other way around.

That, Benjie Levy said, will help theScore stand out from the crowd.

'When we look at what's going on in the sports betting business today … with betting increasingly happening on mobile and in-game, you see the operators all working their tails off to try to increase the amount of engagement that happens on those platforms. They're adding live data. They're trying to add live video. They're trying to create a sports engagement experience on the betting platform to try to keep users there longer and stimulate more betting.

'Our view is entirely to flip that situation on its head. We have the platform where it's natural for users to engage around sports, to consume the content and chat with their friends while the game is going on and before and after. We think that moving the transactional element closer to the engagement is a much more natural experience than trying to recreate an engagement environment on a fundamentally transactional platform.

'Because of that, any option short of becoming an operator ourselves wouldn't give us the latitude to execute that that was fulfilling. Not fulfilling just to us but to our users, who we put out in front of all of this.'

Joining NJ sports betting late not a worry

Certainly, the NJ sports betting industry has ballooned since going live in June.

Last month, the fourth month of available online wagering, saw mobile products account for 72 percent of an unprecedented $330 million in handle.

DraftKings Sportsbookand FanDuel Sportsbook, once primarily focused on daily fantasy sports, have emerged as heavy hitters. And of course, there are European bookmakers such as William Hill and BetStars NJ.

Yet John Levy is not concerned about entering the industry late. For the reasons detailed above by his son.

'The other guys should be worried about that,' the company's founder said. 'We're not in the least worried about that. I'm not trying to sound arrogant. We have a pretty solid user base in New Jersey already in our app. That's true for users across the US.'

‘We know our users'

More than 4 million active users utilize theScore's app, which the Levys said is the second-most popular in North America. The company also reached 50 million sports fans on its social and emerging platforms in the third quarter.

'We know our users have a high propensity to gamble,' Levy continued. 'We did our own surveying, we see it in the behavior patterns of users in the app. Our theory is simple: We're doing all the hard stuff. We're giving them all the data, all the information, we're pushing all this stuff out to them. It's a very personal experience, and they're going elsewhere to place wagers.

'Our whole philosophy is not to push anyone to do anything. That's not our style. We're going to make (sports betting) available. … We honestly think we have the opportunity in this space to go up against the biggest or the smallest … to really be the predominant brand in the sports betting business in New Jersey. Because of the trusted relationship and the relationship we have with our users.'

Soccer Kladionica

Added Benjie Levy:

'We don't shy away from anyone. Our offering is going to be as competitive with anyone in the marketplace, both in terms of core sportsbook offerings and in terms of innovation we're going to bring to the marketplace. … We think there's really, across the board, areas for us to differentiate.'

New Jersey first, then …

The Levys continue emphasizing the importance of user engagement and enjoyment.

'All we care about,' John Levy said, 'is providing the users with the best experience they can have in sports.'

Thescore Sportsbook

Sports betting, he added, 'is just one particular aspect of why people love sports.' Because of that loyalty, he noted, theScore could gain 'the inside edge to penetrate the market effectively and at a significantly reduced cost' compared to competitors.

A team of engineers — actually, theScore's whole team, John Levy said — is focused on meeting the company's timeline of a mid-2019 launch of its NJ sports betting app.

It seems like the perfect time, he said.

The Score News

When will theScore launch in NJ?

Depending on actual activation, theScore's sportsbook could begin at the tail end of the NBA season, during the dog days of MLB summer, and be honed by NFL and college football kickoff.

While theScore is focused on getting off the ground in New Jersey, by no means does it have tunnel vision.

'Our users are in every state,' John Levy said. 'This was never thought to be just a one-state solution. Our brand is recognized across the country. And yes, New Jersey happens to be the first (entry point for theScore) and it's a great one to start in. … Obviously I think we're going to be able to shine there. But clearly our intention is to roll this out across the country depending on how states open up and how they deal with it.'

Added Benjie:

The Score Sports Betting

'Our intent is not to get into it as one-state operator. We're ready to consider and engage other opportunities in other states. … We're actively engaging now.'