Developing….
You have to know when to hold them and when to fold them. Or in this case, perhaps just take their money and provide a voiceover for their content.
I believe that both the choice of words and the underlying intention will be intriguing to observe in the upcoming days. Despite receiving diverse information from reliable sources, all of it seems to converge on the same fundamental facts.”
Less than a year after it was launched, the brand SNBets will be erased, wiped completely.
For those of you on social media who despise the entire concept of sports betting and its increasing presence in our media, especially in hockey, don’t get too excited yet.
Initially, one source informed me that Sportsnet was completely withdrawing from the gambling business, but a different source advised me to hold my horses.
It appears that the SNBets name, which is very odd and confusing, will be phased out. Instead, all betting content will be endorsed by a paid sponsor, such as Bet365 or MGM. Cabbie Richards will reportedly be the sole face of this content, except for the numerous ads that you all enjoy, which will remain in full effect.
Any work previously branded as SNBets by staffers and freelancers, including social and linear work, will cease under the SNBets name and come to a conclusion within three weeks. Unfortunately, freelancers and those who worked on the SNBets project may not have guaranteed work beyond the next three weeks.
The social media channels and website for SNBets, according to my source, will disappear soon.
It will be fascinating to watch the phrasing and actions of these changes. This was supposed to be a major, game-changing initiative for Rogers, and for many, it was the next frontier for Sportsnet. According to my source, the company is internally viewing the changes as a way to remove customer confusion, but externally, it is being seen as an admission of missing the mark. The only thing that all sources agree on is that no one knows what the betting platform is without a betting book ad revenue mechanism.
One industry source summarized the situation for me this evening, saying, “The original plan was for SNBets to be a standalone platform that would generate significant engagement, data, and revenue while creating a lot of excitement. What it will become in the near future is an improved ad platform for sportsbooks, nothing more. If it is wildly successful, it could replace previous lost ad revenue streams.”
This seems far from the original plan, but intelligent companies learn to pivot quickly when things don’t work out. On the bright side, it seems that we may get more Cabbie content away from betting. To many, the betting content has been pretty dull so far, and we all miss the old Cabbie content.
All current sponsorship agreements, such as the Monday night hockey bet MGM and the Blue Jays Bet365, will continue through their respective agreements.
I will provide more details as I become aware of them.
Born and raised in Toronto, Jonah Sigel is currently based in Seattle, WA. An avid sports fan, Jonah took to writing about the sports media world back in 2004 with two young kids at home, a new job and a return to Toronto. The interest grew and grew to include the former website Torontosportsmedia.com, the twitter handle @yyzsportsmedia, the PressRow podcast and now the all new yyzsportsmedia.com
Did they pull the plug on the Cabbie bet 365 live segment during hockey night in Canada? I noticed he was struggling really to speak coherently a couple weeks ago during one of his segments. Since then I’ve yet to see him again during the intermissions. Wonder if he’s ok?