FanDuel and AP team up on sports betting odds and coverage
AP will exclusively cite gambling odds provided by FanDuel in its sports coverage, in exchange for payments from the online betting company.
FanDuel Group’s brands include FanDuel, Betfair US and TVG.
Associated Press did not say how long the agreement runs or the amount FanDuel is paying. For the 175 year old independent news org, the commercial deal is atypical, it’s not clear how often the AP has entered into such exclusive deals to feature paid-for content in its news reporting.
According to the agreement, FanDuel-provided odds will appear in AP’s daily sports odds features, game previews and other sports stories. In addition, the companies also will integrate FanDuel widgets across the sports pages of APNews.com and distribute “select FanDuel content” across the AP wire.
The news company emphasized that the news service will retain editorial control of all content. They also pointed out that exclusively using FanDuel betting odds will provide consistency across its coverage.
“As sports betting becomes more commonplace, our customers are increasingly asking for this kind of information,” said Barry Bedlan, AP’s global director of text and new markets products. “It makes sense to work with one of the largest, reputable sportsbooks in the United States to provide a consistent, credible reference point for AP and its customers.”
FanDuel sees the AP as “the ideal source for us to disseminate our industry-leading sportsbook’s proprietary odds and content,” according to Adam Kaplan, the company’s GM and VP of content.
Editing by Rachel Hu
