2021 SHORTLIST

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TALK THE LINE WITH FOX BET

Entrant Company: FOX Sports

FINALIST

Best Sports Betting Content

Talk the Line with FOX Bet

ABOUT THIS ENTRY

“Talk the Line with FOX Bet” is a three-times-per-week live stream mixing sports wagering, fan involvement and a little bit of fun, helping grow the average American sports fan into a more knowledgeable, resourceful and savvy sports bettor.

How does this represent “Excellence in Engagement”?

FOX Sports recognizes that sports betting and gambling is more fun when you’re in a group. Fans can celebrate each other’s wins and commiserate over each other’s losses. A “Talk the Line with FOX Bet” Facebook group was created so fans could send in their questions during the week as well as their favorite bets. The Sunday “Q&A” hour allowed fans the chance to engage directly with FOX Sports’ experts by submitting questions via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The intention behind the Sunday “Q&A” show was for fans to view the on-air personalities as accessible experts. The format allowed McIntyre, Schwartz and Perlman to develop a genuine trust with fans, arming them with the information they needed to make informed decisions, help them win and ultimately be smarter about the game of football.

 

Objective: FOX Sports’ partnership with FOX Bet allows the network the opportunity to turn an audience that loves sports into an audience that also makes legal sports betting part of his or her own sports consumption habits. FOX Sports’ investment in sports wagering continued to grow with the launch of “Talk the Line with FOX Bet.”

Strategy & Execution: To reach an audience who was not yet a regular sports better but could become one in the future, the producers of “Talk the Line with FOX Bet” approached the production as an “experience,” rather than a “show.”

The program played a pivotal role in FOX Sports’ coverage of the biggest sporting event of the year, Super Bowl LV. The crew kicked off the network’s watch party with pre-game analysis and returned at halftime, helping viewers get an edge on the big game. With 5.4 million live views across platforms, the Super Bowl LV Watch Party was the best live performance ever for a FOX Sports Watch Party.

A Week 8 special helped fans prepare for the second half of the NFL season, and the Q&A show the night before the CFP National Championship delivered much sought-after insight into the biggest night in college football.

With a total of 55 shows throughout the 2020-21 football season, “Talk the Line with FOX Bet” garnered 3.75M views on social alone in just in its live windows (not including VOD).


Results:

Monday’s line reveal shows, featuring Colin Cowherd, Charissa Thompson and Jason McIntyre, totaled 2 million views across 20 shows. Thursday’s line movement and picks shows featuring Jason McIntyre and Geoff Schwartz (with Sara Perlman later in the season), drew 800K views across 19 shows. And lastly, Sunday’s Q&A shows totaled 770K views across 12 shows.

“Talk the Line with FOX Bet” also increased traffic to the FOX Bet website and resulted in more downloads of the FOX Super 6 app.

PRODUCTION

FOX Sports

 

CREDITS

Eric Shanks
CEO
Fox Sports
 
President, National Networks
FOX Sports
 
EVP, Digital,
FOX Sports
 
VP, Digital
FOX Sports
 
Colin Cowherd
Host
Fox Sports
 
Charissa Thompson
Host
Fox Sports
 
Contributor
Fox Sports
 
Geoff Schwartz
Writer
Fox Sports
 
Sara Perlman
Contributor
Fox Sports
 
Director, Short-Form Digital
FOX Sports 
 
Director, Social, FOX Sports
 
Director, Digital Talent Productions & Storytelling
FOX Sports
 
Sr Director, Video, FOX Sports
 
Sr. Manager, Digital Editorial
FOX Sports
 
Senior Associate Producer, Digital Content
FOX Sports
 
Associate Manager, Digital Production
FOX Sports
 
Senior Manager, Technical Operations
FOX Sports
 
Associate Digital Producer
FOX Sports
 
Digital Editorial Designer
FOX Sports
 
Senior Social Media Designer
FOX Sports
 

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