DraftKings has sold the Vegas Sports Information Network (VSiN) to Musburger Media for an undisclosed price after first acquiring the network for $70m in March 2021. The deal was announced on Monday (22 July).
As part of the deal, VSiN’s original founders, Brian Musburger and Bill Adee, will take back control of the company. The two men founded the sports betting network in 2017 and guided it through the original 2021 sale to DraftKings. The network features 18 hours of daily original betting-focused content and streams 24/7.
In a statement on Monday, Musburger said the “original vision for VSiN still holds” despite the relatively quick sell-off.
“We truly appreciate the work we’ve done with DraftKings and look forward to continuing to collaborate on future projects,” he said. “Bill and I couldn’t be more excited about leading VSiN into the future and cementing our position as a trusted authority in sports betting.”
DraftKings thanked VSiN “for a great relationship” and said it “looks forward to continuing to advertise on the network”. After the sale, its media portfolio still includes the DraftKings network, a partnership with Barstool Sports and a distribution deal with Meadowlark Media.
No transaction details were announced, but VSiN told Sports Handle that more announcements would be made in the coming weeks. The company responded to several user comments on X indicating that it will have “more creative freedom” moving forward.
Thanks Albert! Now that we have more creative freedom, what would you most want to see from VSiN moving forward (can be something new or more of something we already do)?
— VSiN (@VSiNLive) July 22, 2024
Rumours about about the company being sold back to Musburger first began circulating earlier this month.
VSiN sale represents full-circle moment for DraftKings
When it first bought VSiN, DraftKings’ goal was to help grow its audience “alongside the expansion of legal sports betting in the US”. CEO Jason Robins said he hoped the partnership would add value “to consumers who are looking to become more knowledgeable about sports betting”.
Now, it appears that another sports betting-media investment has come and gone.
Penn Entertainment went down a similar path with Barstool Sports. In August 2022 Penn exercised its option to buy out Barstool at a valuation of $450m after increasing its stake multiple times. It then tried its hand with the Barstool Sportsbook platform for about a year, before pivoting again to the ESPN Bet mega-deal in August 2023.
Penn also sold Barstool back to its original founder, Dave Portnoy, albeit for $1. Within months, Barstool then entered into its DraftKings partnership. That in turn may have influenced the VSiN sale.
