30-second summary

• Action Network is a sports betting startup that recently raised $17.5m
• It will offer media content and exclusive sports betting analysis and data
• Many notable investors are on board, including some owners of major teams
• The platform will have a lot of competition in the space as the sector takes off

Details of this startup

A new digital startup known as the Action Network Inc recently had its latest funding round. The many notable investors included owners of hockey, basketball, and baseball teams, as well as the former owners of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).

This new service will be available on a subscription basis, and it will offer wide-ranging analysis and data for those involved in sports betting. This latest round of funding raised $17.5m (￡13.1m). The business, part of the Chernin Group, has been operating since the fall of 2017. Well-known media icon Peter Chernin is the head of the group.

Currently, sports betting is legal in eight states, and many more states will follow suit in 2019 and beyond. There is certainly a lot of opportunity for those in the space to take advantage of this nascent sector and establish themselves as market leaders.

Big-name investors

One of the biggest investors in this funding round was Fertitta Capital. This private equity company was started by the Fertitta brothers after the sale of the UFC in 2016 for about $4bn (￡3bn). It has a long track record in the casino space, owning a majority stake of the Red Rock Resorts company. This is the first time the firm has forayed into the sports betting space in the United States.

Some of the other notable investors were 6721 Capital, which owns the Chicago Cubs and David Blitzer, who is a co-owner of the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia 76ers. The first venture capital fund focusing primarily on esports, BitKraft Esports Ventures, also invested in Action Network.

Future plans for Action Network

With experts predicting that the sports betting market in the US could reach $6.5bn (￡4.9b) in 2023, there is clearly a lot of opportunity in the space. Sports teams, leagues, gambling companies, and media companies are all looking to get a slice of the action.

Action Network originally began with the consolidation of three different companies into one. It now has the funds needed to start rolling out its platform on a wide scale.

The new company aims to be the leading destination for sports bettors in the country. Currently, it offers a lot of different forms of media, including podcasts and regular news articles. Paying users will get access to market trends in the sports betting sector.

They also will get exclusive news content and other in-depth tools for conducting analysis. Their goal as a platform is to have hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

How competitive will the space be?

The Action Network is clearly in a good position to take advantage of this growing sector. It has the funds to take advantage of every opportunity to become the number one destination for sports bettors.

However, the company will probably face stiff competition. The major sports leagues may look at exclusively offering their live data to those who pay them an annual fee. This will be invaluable for sportsbook operators. Live betting is very popular, and the most accurate and up-to-date information is vital in staying profitable.

Media companies will also be plowing a lot more resources into creating articles, podcasts, and shows around sports betting. It is likely that the major television networks will produce shows focusing on sports betting in the near future.

Finally, the teams themselves will enter into exclusive agreements with gambling companies to offer them exclusive access to certain team data. Therefore, there will be a lot of factors that the Action Network will have to take into account with their media, data, and analytical offerings.