DraftKings (DKNG) and Disney’s (DIS) ESPN announced on Friday that they will enable customers to link their DraftKings Sportsbook and ESPN accounts to deliver a more personalized, streamlined betting and viewing experience. The feature was added just ahead of the men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments, which recently reached their highest viewership in over 30 years.
Once live, users can link accounts via a new “Bet Your Bracket” tab in the DraftKings (DKNG) app. Fans who create an ESPN Tournament Challenge bracket will then see betting options tailored to their bracket picks, along with customized suggestions and engagement opportunities throughout the tournament, plus one free month of ESPN Unlimited for those who link.
The move is seen by both companies as a strategic step toward deeper integration, with DraftKings (DKNG) positioning it as part of its upcoming Super App strategy and ESPN highlighting future features such as in-app and web tracking of upcoming, live, and settled bets and personalized promotions based on users’ favorite teams, players, and fantasy rosters.
Shares of DraftKings (DKNG) fell 1.6% on the day, while ESPN parent Disney (DIS) was down 1.7%.