Parx Casino’s interactive team has launched a new digital media division that includes high-profile local personalities Natalie Egenolf, Dei Lynam and Sam Wilson.
Egenolf, who left her anchor role at 97.5 The Fanatic in May, is leading the new venture as an on-air host, producer and brand ambassador. Philly-based Dei Lynam’s resume includes 25 years at Comcast SportsNet as a 76ers sideline reporter, studio host and analyst. Wilson also recently worked at 97.5 The Fanatic and currently hosts “Down the Line with Charlie & Bo” on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The Bensalem casino's new division looks to capitalize on continued growth in the sports betting segment while connecting with audiences via the increasingly digital, interactive ways they are engaging with content, according to Egenolf and Matt Cullen, senior vice president of interactive gaming and sports at Parx.
Egenolf described the new digital media division as “a convergence of the online sports betting space and traditional sports media space.” Covid-19 changed the trajectory of sports media as online sports gambling inundated the sports industry, she said. Many traditional networks, their partnerships and sponsorships pulled out of the space, leaving digital wagering to largely fund sports stations and networks.
“This is where the sports media is going and this is where traditional sports programing should be: feature content and segments and podcasts,” Egenolf told the Business Journal. “It can all be backed by sports gambling without being sports gambling focused.”
Content from the digital media division will roll out across social media channels like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, Cullen said. Longer-form content will debut on platforms like YouTube.
Parx is looking to connect with audiences as they are increasingly placing bets and consuming content on mobile devices like tablets and smartphones, rather than switching on the TV to tune into outlets like ESPN, Cullen added. As sports betting has become legalized in more states, more people are seeking short-form sports content and tapping into it via social media.
“You really can't discern between traditional sports content, linear sports content and the betting content there. They're one in the same now,” Cullen said. “... But the way that the consumers digest the content and interact with the content and consume it, I think that's the biggest thing that's changed.”
In addition to traditional sports content, the digital media division plans to highlight sports-adjacent lifestyle content such as local events. For example, Egenolf will produce content featuring fans tailgating outside Lincoln Financial Field before Eagles games or getting ready to attend a Phillies game outside of Citizens Bank Park.
Parx aims to make the division’s content inclusive and accessible to the general sports audience at large and isn’t necessarily targeting a specific demographic, Egenolf noted.
Like Parx’s general operations, the entity is focused on the Philadelphia market, Cullen said, but the casino operator looks to replicate the new division in its other active markets. Down the line, that includes tweaking the content to resonate with audiences in places like Pittsburgh and Detroit (Parx rolled out its mobile sportsbook in Michigan last week).
The digital media division will continue to integrate former athletes into the content, Egenolf said, including familiar faces known in Philadelphia as well as nationally.
Overall, the division looks to capitalize on the shift of sports business transitioning into the online realm, she added. Many entities that have operated for years couldn’t afford to advertise using the traditional media platforms they frequented pre-pandemic.
“We live in much more of a virtual world now than we did prior to March of 2020,” Egenolf said. “And with Covid and the variants still lingering, this is going to be the way that it is for a while.”
