NBC has launched a new mobile app that will allow people to make predictions on English Premier League matches in exchange for cash prizes.
The app, called NBC Sports Predictor, will feature a game called Premier League Pick ‘Em that will include matches from popular teams, such as Manchester City and Liverpool. Debuting on Dec. 26, the free-to-play game will offer a $50,000 grand prize for a “perfect week” (picking the correct scores of all five selected Premier League matches that week) and a minimum of $5,000 in weekly prizes.
NBC built the app with Boom Fantasy, a maker of sports gaming products spanning real-money fantasy sports games and sports betting products. Additional games will be announced in 2019, with “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of prize money being allocated to the app over the next year.
“We are excited to introduce NBC Sports’ first free-to-play game, which will allow fans to play along while they watch their favorite NBC Sports action,” said Rob Simmelkjaer, the senior vice president of NBC Sports Ventures.
In addition to placing bets and making predictions, the app will offer a multimedia experience that will include NBC’s on-air team—Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Earle, Kyle Martino, and Robbie Mustoe—featured weekly in videos. Fans will also be able to play on NBCSports.com shortly after the Dec. 26 launch.
SportTechie Takeaway
NBC is throwing its hat into the fantasy ring with the launch of its new Predictor app. This partnership with Boom Fantasy could even potentially enable the broadcaster it to transition to real-money sports betting as legalized gambling becomes more widespread over the next few years. With its own prediction app, NBC would be able to marry its gaming efforts with its streaming properties into one seamless experience.