More on theScore

Since the launch of The Parleh in February, we’ve seen and heard a lot of John Levy. The founder and CEO of Score Media and Gaming Inc., has touted the benefits of a licensed and regulated sports betting industry to a bipartisan standing committee studying Bill C-218. He’s appeared on virtual events sponsored by sports business publications and other organizations to talk about the fast-evolving sports wagering landscape in the United States and Canada. He’s done the media rounds with sports and business journalists to talk about theScore’s present and future strategies for the legal betting world across North America.

So, along with providing a bounty of bon mots for our weekly offering in the Toronto Star sports section last week, Levy graciously and enthusiastically weighed in some other topics around Score Media and Gaming, and the sports betting and media landscapes.

‍On theScore waiting for a legal sports betting world to launch its mobile sportsbook: “I knew even in our TV days that sports betting was an integral part of why people were passionate about sports. Did we know (legalized single-event betting) was going to happen? We always hoped it would, and that’s why we stayed out of the grey market. We said ‘let’s sit tight, build our brand, and build the relationship with the customer’. One day governments will wake up and say ‘why don’t we tax, license and regulate these guys?’ That’s what’s happening in the States and that’s what’s going to happen in Canada.”

‍On the impact legalized wagering will have on broadcasters: “There’s a huge shift happening in the next year or two. The move out of legacy traditional broadcast into a digital landscape is almost a fait accompli. Everyone sees the (audience) numbers on the broadcasting side dwindling. Broadcasters, teams and leagues are so excited (because) they see betting as the catalyst to try and hold onto the engagement they had when we were kids sitting in front of the TV watching the Leafs. Today’s kids aren’t consuming content the same way. We’re seeing that the digital presence is no longer the second application. You have to lead with where the consumer is, and the consumer is in the digital landscape.”

‍On incorporating a private and public chat experience to theScore app: “(In the beginning) the app was very personalized and a firehose of data that allowed you to personalize it. But it was all one-directional. People were taking our data and going to other platforms to chat with one another. Sports are inherently social – you go to games with each other, you bet with each other, you play fantasy with each other. It’s all about interacting. We put a private and public chat in the app and what happened, it blew up. Fifty to 60 per cent of the conversation we saw (on the app) during games was about betting.”

‍On what defines Score Media and Gaming: “We’re a sports media company but we’re driven by technology. We position ourselves as a digital sports media company. We’re not a betting company. Sports betting is a part of who we are, and is going to be a big part of revenue generation and appreciation and valuation for the company.”

‍On working with three of his four children: “You can’t plan this shit, so I’m the luckiest guy in the world. Benjie (the company’s president and CEO) started in the banks and hated it, so he just showed up. There’s no question he was smarter than me from the get go. Aubrey (VP of marketing and partnerships) was in theatre and art. He worked at HBO for a couple of years. He came in when we needed help with new business opportunities and esports, and he now runs that whole esports division. Noah (VP, product management) also went to school in the States and ended up in New York. When he came out of his MBA program, we were really starting to fire with the (app) and had this notion that betting was coming. Noah shows up and starts working on products with our CTO and engineering side.”

‍On family discussions around business: “We have some humdinger blowouts. We’re on calls and (when) we’re disagreeing with each other, people see that. The gloves come off like you would experience in a normal family. We live and breathe this stuff because we love it.”