
Penn Entertainment is trading one sports media brand as a betting partner for one with an even bigger name—ESPN—that it hopes will give a huge upgrade its gambling business.
The casino company will pay ESPN $1.5 billion to license its brand name for its sports betting operation over the next 10 years. The new agreement reflects gambling companies’ desire to attach themselves to sports media brands and is ESPN’s first such deal with a sports betting firm and a nod to the network's struggles amid declining cable viewership.