Catena Media CEO exclusive: Fanatics, ESPN Bet launches very good for affiliates

We spoke to CEO Michael Daly to find out why and how he plans to take Catena to a new level. The CEO acknowledges that Catena has yet to catch up, and says he plans to do so mainly on the casino side.

Tell us about your second quarter performance. Is it a comparison to New York, as was the case in the first quarter?

There are external and internal factors. External factors include New York having a very strong year last year, which was still strong even with lower outbound travel. Ontario also had a strong start, despite lower outbound travel. Over the last four years, we have seen very high growth rates in North and South America, around €80-85 million ($87-92 million) from 2019 to date. Every year, as we get bigger and as the competition gets tougher, this percentage gets smaller and smaller.

It was our first time partnering with NJ. com, and it wasn't easy for us. In New Jersey, we compete with NJ. com for the first keyword. So how much are you investing in media partners? Are you paying them at least 50/50, or even 60/70, in favor of them, as the market demands right now? Of course, media partners bring you more traffic, and that makes sense. But is it worth moving them to the top position and paying more out of your pocket for that?

We have some catching up to do. We haven't heard of a bad quarter compared to our peers.

It was hard for us, but easy for the teams that are competing with us. Now we've reached a point where, as expected, some of them are going to challenge us. Because it's a fight with fire. Could we do something differently at the end of Q1 or Q4? Yes, probably. There are some things we could do more aggressively, but it's a hard balance. If you're not feeling the challenge?

Where did you stumble? I think it's a casino side. Most players have been enthusiastic about sports betting, but now they have a boost from the casino. We hope to compete with them in this field.

What role does a partnership with the media play in the US market growth?

What was unexpected was that Google posted casinos on those sites (even if there are no people doing casino businesses, even if they are sport s-specialized media). There is a media partner. For example, suppose the southern United States has suddenly begun to get first in Michigan. Michigan is exactly the opposite of the country, and we did not expect it. We know how to deal with it, but again we stumbled on the surprise. And now, I had to deal with it again.

How do you deal with this? First, we know how to become stronger in our field, which is our main responsibility. Second, we can add a partnership with the media, use it, and use it in a way we never imagined. M & amp; A may be able to do it later, but I just need to secure the right launch table with the team to know what we are doing before buying something and trying it out. I like

What is the current status of the US game market?

With the support of Fanatics, Bet365, and a contract with ESPN BET, not only FANDUEL and DRAFTKINGS, which were the biggest share, but also more businesses. The game is now resuming in earnest, which is good for us.

So it's well balanced. In the first quarter of this year, we had to evaluate other issues. Carnegie had considered other organizations and selling options. This makes it difficult to cooperate with third parties and media companies. It gives them uncertainties, and it's not clear what happens to us and whether it's worth it.

You need to catch up. I do not deny that our quarter was worse than in the same industry. Some other companies in the same industry were late to start the game, so they will accelerate faster. But that doesn't mean we should not grow.

In the second quarter report, one of the 2025 company's goal was to increase the rescue in the United States to $ 125 million. How do you plan to achieve this?

As a pessimist, we have not expected many states in 2024, except for the important North Carolina State and the unfortunately not important Vermont. However, in fact, we hope that a new business partner will be born in the first year in this market equilibrium. This will be a boost to get a part of the market.

We want to increase sales in the current market with the support of the organic team and in Canada, and, probably in Canada, with various media partners. " And 2025 begins. By 2025, Iowa had expected sports betting and casinos to spread in many states. Perhaps at least one of these large states, whether in New York, the complex Indiana or Illinois, is.

Of course, it is reasonable for these (partnership with the media) to promote more traffic, but if you already have an excellent domain, it will give you more opportunities. But is it worth moving them to the top and paying more expenses for that?

Here are almost all of them. This is a merciless task, but why is there an obligation to assign an unwanted target? Again, we have to work hard to achieve it, but we expect it to be a competition until the end. As long as there are quite a few parts of the US launch in 2024, there are quite a few parts in 2025. This will definitely support us and both ESPN and Fanatics new businesses. This is a pretty good thing for a branch office.

Why has EBITDA the lowest in the last four years after adjusting the catera that covers no n-continuous businesses?

This is also due to the processing of no n-continuous and continuous businesses, but the recital in the first quarter probably affected. In any case, some accounting data obtained from the accounting team has actually been pushed back. But this is still part of the investment. The establishment of a sports news team, which was required to come up with the media, its establishment, and to come. It is an investment in the company, team members, o n-site work, all of which are cost. And we pay money.

When we start some of these deals, there is a minimum guaranteed payment that flows out first, every quarter, whether it's a high quarter or a low quarter. Again, we are working to make some of the payment projects more cyclical in the future. But right now, this is of no interest to our media partners, they are mainly looking for a guaranteed profit stream for the quarter that everyone wants to own.

They have every opportunity to explicitly ask for some of this to be available for personal traffic, etc. Work with influencers, this is also included in direct costs, commercial media, the costs for that are also included in direct costs, but we also create personal teams and mechanisms to improve this work. So some of these items are impacting the cost increase. I think we will see how this balances out in the coming quarters.

How do you intend to change the alignment between clean debt and clean profits?

We have already symbolically reached this indicator, thanks to the inflow of cash or foreign exchange from the sale of England and Australia, which will take place in the next few months, and the sale of AskGambler, which will take place in the next two years. So, given this exchange rate and other revenue streams for the next few quarters, we expect it to happen literally by the end of the year.

The new operators of ESPN and Fanatics will benefit tremendously from the new launches because they will be pretty active in these new states when they enter the market. This is pretty good for the branches.

This is the family's own labor income, and in fact, they receive money from people who are guaranteed, for example. These are promised payments, but guaranteed payments. This is purely future payments. In essence, this is a tail to receive.

Why did you come to distinguish between continuation and termination in your own financial statements?

This can sometimes cause a lot of confusion, but this challenge is a way to raise our own awareness as traders and directors and ask ourselves, what is the company really passionate about? In the long run, what is actually happening, what is the growth rate? If we grow and everything else falls, what will it be?

After all, quitting means that we are not always there. As a result, it is time to declare. This is who we are. Even if you are still doing this, if this is going to disappear, let's be as clear as possible, for example. We've already talked about the alienation, the need for streamlining, and other baggage that needs to be cleared.

You can do it so that you can do it so that you are actually a promise, everyone can quickly ignore these seemingly accurate {} people. You can: | You can forget it.

( * In fact, it is necessary to add that this is still a stereotype on the 5th stereotype of IFRS, so it is, for example, divided. This is not the case to actually regulate the catera. , In fact, the audit corporation requires regulations.)

What is the next quarter of the catera? What can be expected in the third quarter?

At the beginning of the NFL season, we will strengthen the media partner and create a better business casino. We want to expand the size of commercial media and make them more important in our bags. I want to make the most powerful NFL launch, such as the state where NFLs, such as Massachusetts and Ohio, are the first to open, and the opening of Kentokka.

In addition, all of these backgrounds are still shining and we can arrange good contributions to casinos, continuing to work to improve business in the Asian Pacific region, which is the best. It will be reviewed in the way. Although there is progress in this direction, we promise to seek the maximum progress and interest.

No matter how you abstract it, there is no doubt that it is part of the business. When requesting a double function to be assigned. However, at this point, the operation work was focused on the increase. < SPAN> | You can forget: | You can forget about.