What challenges did PLN face this year and how did the company overcome them?
For one, cementing a regular schedule of events was important for us this year. One of the big goals of 2024 was centered around building our audience – and we’ve done that. We do around 10 million impressions a week on our own operated social, and that’s up from about nine million impressions this time last year. We’ve been growing a lot and the key to that has been the consistency of the content we produce; the consistency of our events, alongside the types of sports that we do.
We did quite a few events at the start of the year during the first quarter. Then, we went quiet for a short while as we were planning the rest of our schedule. We got started again in the past three weeks or so, relaunching a new putting tour, among other things. Starting that engine up again and building the regular content has taken a few weeks to adjust to, but I feel like we’re riding the rhythm now, and we’re ready to roll.
You have announced a partnership with Abelson Odds. Can you share what other collaborations you have in the pipeline?
I can say a few. We have a collaboration coming up with a very large influencer that is working with some of our sports, which is great. Moreover, a few other partnerships with operators, fantasy and providers. I don’t want to say too much, but we’re really excited about what we have in store.
How do you see the sports betting market evolving within the next few years, and how will PLN fit into that landscape?
I think there’s been a sudden realization that offering different types of content really matters. If you think about the first few years of post-PASPA, the lower demand allowed people to simply get by with live sports like football and the NBA, which everyone knows about and wants to see.
I think that, over time, there’ll be even more of an increase in diversity when it comes to operator’s offerings. We’re seeing an increased realization that there are gaps in the calendar when there are no major sporting events. However, on top of that, there are other opportunities when those sporting events are running that are centered around an increased demand for content, designed to pull people back to a given platform to get more engagement. The way you’re going to get that engagement is through the kind of sports that PLN offers.
Indeed, that’s why we started PLN a couple of years ago. Because of our background – 20 years in sports and gaming – we know the importance of keeping one eye on the clock and calendar at all times to seize those gaps. It’s simple metrics, right? When we first came to G2E as Pro League Network two years ago, I struggled to get two meetings for the whole group. This time around, I think I’ve had 43 meetings. We feel there has been an increase in interest in what we’re doing; alongside a realization of the value we can provide to the industry.
2025; what’s that looking like for you guys?
I think you’re going to see a lot of interesting things on the content distribution side from us. You’re also going to see a lot of interesting things surrounding audience development. We feel we’re about to get another inflexion point in our growth in terms of the change in the awareness of our sports offerings, and we’re super excited about that.
