“NBABet presented by BetMGM” will debut Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV. The league has partnered with BetMGM for odds and data integration, while The Action Network will manage the program’s social media and digital content.
Bleacher Report, owned by WarnerMedia’s Turner Sports, will deliver NBABet content on its website and app, as well. Turner Sports has an ongoing partnership with NBA Digital, the NBA’s cross-platform portfolio that includes NBA TV, the NBA App, and NBA League Pass.
The show will be based out of WarnerMedia Studios in Atlanta. No details have emerged yet on who will host the program.
The NBA has previously tested the waters with sports betting content through NBABetStream, a betting-focused telecast available for NBA League Pass and NBA TV subscribers.
"We've said consistently that sports betting should be an opt-in experience," NBA senior vice president Scott Kaufman-Ross told ESPN. "The creation of the NBA Bet platform gives us the ability to serve the fan in this way. By creating NBA Bet, we're able to create an environment where we can serve betting content to the fans that want it, while not pushing it on the fans that aren't interested.
“We're still being cognizant that we don't want to oversaturate our telecasts with sports betting advertising. We want to be cognizant about problem gaming and making sure we're educating our fans and being responsible with the way we roll this out."
The show’s launch comes one day ahead of the NBA Playoffs.
NBABet also arrives less than two months after MLB debuted its own betting-focused show, also sponsored by BetMGM. “Bettor’s Eye” is broadcast daily on MLB.TV.
