An ESPN sportsbook could be on the way as the media giant goes all-in on sports betting.

Discussions are early, but pending legalization of sports betting in ESPN’s home state of Connecticut is speeding up the process, sources told Front Office Sports.

ESPN has been expanding its sports betting footprint. Last September, the network signed deals with DraftKings and Caesars. ESPN and Caesars opened a studio in Las Vegas for ESPN2’s “Daily Wager.”

There’s a sports betting gold rush happening all across media right now: 

• Fox Sports and The Stars Group teamed up to create the Fox Bet sportsbook, which now operates in Colorado, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Flutter acquired TSG for $6 billion, putting Fox in business with the owner of FanDuel.
• After investing $163 million for a 36% stake in Barstool Sports, Penn National has launched the Barstool Sportsbook in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana.
• Dan Le Batard and John Skipper’s Meadowlark recently kicked off its $50 million partnership with DraftKings via a 24-hour marathon show.

Driven largely by sports betting, April was the second-biggest month ever for the U.S. gaming industry. Revenue grew 26% to $4.4 billion, according to the American Gaming Association. That trailed only the $4.8 billion made during March Madness.

ESPN has successfully launched line extensions before, but the company’s previous forays into cell phones, restaurants, and magazines eventually fizzled.

The UEFA Champions League includes teams from dozens of countries, and its fan base extends even further.

The league secured a $600 million deal with BeIN Sports to broadcast games from the Champions League and other UEFA tournaments across the Middle East and North Africa.

The three-year deal, which starts in the 2021-2022 season, will retain BeIN’s exclusive rights for the Champions League in the region.

The Qatar-based media group is a lesser-known but undeniably prominent sports broadcaster.

• In December, BeIN secured Premier League rights in the MENA region through 2025 in a $500 million deal.
• The network is also a major rights holder in cricket, tennis, rugby, and other sports.
• BeIN held exclusive rights to broadcast La Liga in the U.S. and Canada, but in May the league agreed to buy back those rights. Then ESPN struck a reported $1.4 billion deal to broadcast La Liga through 2029.

The deal with UEFA is for slightly less annually than BeIN paid on its last contract.

This was expected by analysts because Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and other European leagues have recently seen a dip in the value of their rights.

The National Music Publishers’ Association, on behalf of a number of music publishers, has sued Roblox for $200 million.

The NMPA says Roblox, which has more than 42 million active daily users, has failed to compensate writers or copyright holders for songs used in the game.

David Israelite, president of the NMPA, said that Roblox is making “hundreds of millions of dollars by requiring users to pay every time they upload music onto the platform — taking advantage of young people’s lack of understanding about copyright.”

The music publishing industry’s total revenue in 2020 was over $4 billion. Artists ranging from Ariana Grande to The Rolling Stones are named in the suit.

Roblox said it is “surprised and disappointed by this lawsuit which represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Roblox platform operates.”

Others have come under fire from the NMPA.

• In 2019, Peloton was sued by 10 music publishers from the group for $150 million for failing to “obtain synchronization rights for more than 1,000 songs” used in its fitness classes. The suit was settled in February 2020 for an undisclosed amount.
• While Amazon’s Twitch hasn’t been sued, Israelite said an “intensive enforcement program to ID and remove unlicensed songs” is underway for the platform.

Roblox went public in early March and, last month, reported $387 million in Q1 revenue.

Facebook is working on a watch with a heart-rate monitor, making it just the latest company seeking a piece of the flourishing wearables market.

Wearables, which have become popular with the world’s top athletes, produce a wellspring of data that companies can leverage in any number of ways.

STATSports, which uses GPS technology to track the movement of its wearers, is now being used by Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, and the Miami Dolphins, providing player data to coaches through tablet and watch apps. 

• In 2018, STATSports signed a $1.42 billion, five-year deal with the U.S. Soccer Federation that will provide the company’s devices to players at every level.
• STATSports and Catapult, which works with teams in the Bundesliga and MLS, let users compare their biometrics to those of top athletes.

Oura has raised around $100 million with rings that have attracted attention from athletes in the NBA, WNBA, NASCAR, and UFC. Patrick Mahomes is an investor in WHOOP, which has raised around $200 million.

WHOOP has also worked its data into broadcasts. Viewers of the PGA Tour were able to see the live heart rates of Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.

The startups will have to compete with the likes of Facebook, Google (which bought Fitbit in January) and Apple (which is preparing a rugged alternative to its watch).

The sports analytics market, which includes on-field health assessments, is projected to grow to $4.6 billion by 2025.