Sportico reports that DraftKings led all operators in ad spending with $9.81m on in-game units, followed by FanDuel with a little more than $5m and Caesars with $3.84m. BetMGM spent $2.7m, while PointsBet and WynnBet did not buy in-game airtime for Week 1.
DraftKings, FanDuel, Caesars and BetMGM collectively bought 90 units of ads across CBS, Fox and NBC.
FanDuel purchased 42 in-game units which earned it 177m in impressions between Thursday evening and Sunday night.
CBS led all channels in ad spots devoted to sports betting at 52, followed by Fox (27) and NBC (11). Sportico reports that ESPN’s Monday Night Football matchup featuring the Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens didn’t feature a sports betting spot.
Gambling was the sixth biggest category for ad inventory, trailing insurance, cars, streaming services, quick-service restaurants and wireless services.
The deluge of sports betting ads was expected after the NFL named DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars as its initial official sportsbook partners. The league signed new sports betting deals with BetMGM, PointsBet and WynnBet leading up to the start of the 2021 season.
The deals focus on data and advertising according to Sportico.
