Score Media and Gaming

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Score Media and Gaming Inc.

Score Media and Gaming's offices in Toronto.
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Media, Gaming
Predecessor	Score Media
Founded	2012
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario , Canada
Key people	John S. Levy (Founder & CEO) Benjie Levy (President & COO)
Products	Digital media, mobile applications, sports betting
Parent	Penn Entertainment (2021-present)
Website	theScore Sports theScore Bet theScore esports Corporate Site

Score Media and Gaming Inc., doing business as theScore, is a Canadian digital media company based in Toronto. It was founded in 2012 by John S. Levy, the company's Chief Executive Officer and Chairman.^[1] The company owns and operates digital sports media and sports betting products which deliver sports scores, data, news, and sports book offerings via emerging and established platforms. The company also previously owned The Score Television Network, which was acquired by Rogers Communications in October 2012 and is today known as Sportsnet 360.^[2] The transaction did not include the Score's digital media assets, including its mobile apps and websites, which they still own and operate.^[3]

The company was spun-out from Score Media immediately prior to Rogers' acquisition. As a result of the transaction, former shareholders of Score Media received one share of the new company for each share held in Score Media, meaning that Score Media founder John Levy and family are the largest single voting shareholders in the company, as was the case with Score Media, though Rogers received additional shares yielding an ownership stake of 11.8%.^[4] Rogers subsequently sold its shares in the Score in June 2014.^[5]

As of Q1 F2020 (Aug-Nov 2019), theScore's mobile sports media application was used by an average of 4.3 million monthly active users worldwide, 62% of which were in the United States, 27% in Canada and 11% in other international markets.^[6] The company is publicly traded and was listed on the TSX Venture Exchange until September 2020 when it was promoted to the Toronto Stock Exchange.^[7] Since March 2021, The Score is listed on Nasdaq, under the SCR ticker.

In August 2021, Penn National Gaming agreed to acquire Score Media and Gaming Inc. for $2 billion in cash and stocks.^[8] The deal completed in October 2021 and the company was delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq.^[9]

Launched in 1994 as Sportscope, theScore originally began as a network focusing on providing sports scores, airing in seven Canadian provinces. Sportscope's programming consisted solely of an alphanumeric text rotation of sports scores, news, and sports betting information, which aired alongside local and national advertising slides. As it did not include any video content, it did not require a CRTC licence.

Sportscope was granted an English-language specialty channel licence by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on September 4, 1996, provisionally titled "Sportscope Plus". The channel was launched in May 1997 as 'Headline Sports' and was a national 24-hour anchor-at-desk sports information service.^[10] Advertising was also introduced, something that did not exist during the Sportscope era. The oldies music was replaced by modern stock music during text rotation of sports scores and news. The channel also contained a constantly updated ticker at the bottom of the screen, providing sports news and scores, as it still does today, per its CRTC licence requirements. There were plans to air different tickers in each region of the country and additional streams of alphanumeric data (perhaps via an alternate channel) when the channel was launched, but those plans were abandoned.

In March 2000, Headline Sports' licence was amended by the CRTC to allow live sports programming, under the conditions that the channel display the ticker and that breaks away from live coverage occur at least once every 15 minutes to present video highlights. As a result of this – the channel was rebranded as 'theScore Television Network' that year. On June 6, 2006, theScore revamped its ticker, alongside the launch of a new HD channel. On September 20, 2011, Score Media announced that it would put theScore Television Network up for sale.^[11]

In August 2012, Rogers Communications, owners of the competing network Sportsnet, acquired Score Media, and divested its digital media assets as theScore, Inc.^[12] The channel would later be rebranded as Sportsnet 360.^[13]

‘theScore’ media app was launched in 2007 as the company's first venture into the mobile app industry.^[14] It has since become a popular multi-sport news app in North America with approximately 4-5 million active users. Available on iOS and Android, the app delivers sports content through a combination of real-time news, scores, stats, and videos for all major leagues, including the National Football League, NCAA Football and Basketball, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, PGA Golf, NASCAR Racing, major European soccer leagues, and more.^[15] News stories published to the app are produced by a combination of the theScore's mobile-first newsroom, where a team of editors across North America create content via a content management system that delivers news directly to users’ mobile devices. Primary sections on theScore app include ‘News’, ‘Scores’, ‘Favorites’, and ‘Discover’.

In May 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, an act that largely outlawed sports betting in the United States. theScore came out in support of the Supreme Court ruling, where Levy stated in a press release: “We’ve been watching this space for some time and eagerly anticipating this ruling. The ruling unlocks exciting opportunities and we are uniquely positioned to deliver amazing fan experiences on mobile and in-game as the betting market develops.”^[16]

On December 18, 2018, theScore became the first media company to announce plans to launch a mobile sportsbook in the United States after reaching a market access agreement with Darby Development LLC, the operator of Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey.^[17]

In July 2019, Penn National Gaming announced a 20-year market access agreement with Score Media and Gaming in 11 states; as a condition of the deal, subsidiary Penn Interactive Ventures would take a 4.7% equity stake in Score Media and Gaming. ^[18]

In September 2019, Score Media became the first media company to launch a mobile sportsbook in the United States, launching theScore Bet in New Jersey as part of a market access agreement with Darby Development LLC—the operator of Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. The service would focus on integrations with the main theScore app, including a "Bet Mode" feature that would allow users to opt into additional betting-focused stats and updates, and a later update which would allow users to prepare their wagers from within theScore sports app, and then transfer them to theScore Bet's app.^[19]

In April 2022, as part of the province's regulated online gambling market, theScore Bet expanded into Canada by launching in Ontario. It would subsequently announce a partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays as its "official gaming partner".^[20]

Launched in 2015, is theScore's online platform dedicated to reporting news for all major competitive video games and players.^[21] Its primary distribution platform for content is YouTube, and in November 2019, the channel surpassed over one million total subscribers on the platform, making it the leading source for competitive gaming coverage.^[22] The channel's rapid growth is a part of the company's broader strategy to uncoil^{[clarification needed]} the esports industry through a wide range of content offerings. As of December 2020, theScore esports YouTube channel had more than 1.5 million subscribers.

In 2017, theScore launched new skills for Amazon’s virtual Assistant, Alexa, to deliver sports news and updates on command. The capabilities for Alexa – known as ‘skills’ – include daily ‘flash briefings’ for theScore and theScore esports, offering a two-minute audio summary of all the major headlines that matter. Fans with an Alexa device can select theScore as their flash briefing and ask “Alexa – what’s in the news?” and theScore will deliver a comprehensive audio sports briefing.^[23]

In 2018, theScore extended its virtual assistant capabilities with its launch on Bixby, the virtual assistant developed by Samsung Electronics. Users across the United States on select Samsung Galaxy devices, including the Galaxy S9 and S9+, can now receive personalized live scores and breaking news on their Bixby Home. By simply swiping right on their home screen to the Bixby Home service, the integration provides fans the ability to view theScore's sports headlines for a wide range of sports, including the FIFA World Cup, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and EPL. If users want access to deeper information beyond a score or news headline, they can tap on theScore's content card on Bixby to be taken to theScore app, if already installed on their device.^[24]

theScore employs a team of social media editors, content creators, and curators, who are responsible for sharing content through social platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other third party platforms. In Q1 F2020, theScore's social content reached nearly 97 million users a month across its social media platforms.^[25]

In 2018, theScore expanded its content strategy by collaborating with pop culture figures and major sports athletes, focusing on telling the stories of their personal and professional triumphs. theScore premiered their new strategy with an 11-minute feature on NBA star, Lance Stephenson. The video received media coverage across major news platforms including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, USA Today, and others, recording approximately 80 million earned media impressions. That year, theScore was named a finalist for Social Media Team of the Year in the annual Digiday Awards.^[26]

Since theScore expanded its content strategy, other athletes and celebrities, including Austin Rivers, Burna Boy, Enes Kanter, Diamond Dallas Page, Steve Nash, and Marshawn Lynch, have been exclusively featured across its social channels. For its viral piece starring NBA centre Enes Kanter and WWE Hall-of-Famer Diamond Dallas Page, theScore was named as a finalist for the Cynopsis Model D Award of Best Documentary.^[27]

The executive chairman of theScore is its founder, John Levy.^[28] The president and chief operating officer of theScore is Benjie Levy.^[29]

Score Media and Gaming Inc. is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, along King Street West. The facility, totalling approximately 30,881 square feet, houses the company's corporate, administration, sales and production teams; which, in total, consist of over 200 full-time employees. theScore also maintains offices in Hamilton, Ontario, which is partially owned by John Levy, the company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. This facility, totalling approximately 1,500 square feet, contains an executive office.^[15] It also maintains offices in New York City, New York, in a shared work space for the company's U.S.-based employees who are engaged in sales, marketing, and business development.

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