MLS Nets Deal with Sports Betting Data Service

Major League Soccer has secured a deal with IMG Arena following an arduous request-for-approval process. 

IMG Arena — a service that works with more than 470 sportsbook brands — will work with MLS to increase fan engagement for America’s top soccer league and its new affiliate league, MLS NEXT Pro. The two entities will also work together to “create a new standard” for soccer data. 

• The deal is worth more than $270 million, per Sportico.
• As part of the pact, MLS will launch three new live data feeds.
• The two entities will also launch digital products to engage online audiences.

IMG Arena’s deal with MLS comes at an exciting time for the league. 

Last month, Apple agreed to a deal with MLS to exclusively stream every match for 10 years starting in 2023. The media rights deal is worth at least $2.5 billion, a source confirmed to Front Office Sports. It will also see MLS receive a base fee and percentage of subscription sales. 

MLS and Apple will build a production studio and hire multilingual talent to facilitate the deal. 

New Endeavor 

IMG Arena is a division of Endeavor, one of the largest holding companies in the world for talent, sports, and media agencies. The owner of UFC generated $1.47 billion in revenue in Q1, a 37.8% increase year-over-year, behind the return of capacity crowds at events.

Endeavor projects full-year revenue to range between $5.2 billion and $5.5 billion in FY2022.