DraftKings spending like drunken sailor on TV ads, debut Ed Norton campaign

Daily fantasy sports operator DraftKings continues to ramp up its TV ad spending and its CEO claims its marketing approach has allowed it to surpass archrival FanDuel.

According to iSpotTV rankings, DraftKings spent $15,930,841 on television advertising in the past seven days. That’s more than Ford, Taco Bell, T-Mobile, McDonald’s and State Farm, and only $15k less than insurance giant Geico.

The nearly $16m in TV ad buys is two-thirds more than the company’s estimated TV spending in the previous seven-day period. It’s also nearly as much as the company spent in the entirety of 2014, according to Kantar Media.

DraftKings’ new marketing deals with broadcasters EPSN and Fox Sports require DraftKings to spend $250m advertising on each network over two years, with the ESPN relationship becoming exclusive in 2016, after which rival FanDuel will have to advertise elsewhere.