As the Euro 2012 Tournament heads in the semi-finals stage, fans and sports book affiliates alike are looking back on what has been an amazing tournament so far. The four remaining teams, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain, are all top notch and promise to put on a great show for the fans across Europe.
Odds-On Favorites
Not surprisingly, Euro 2012 betting action has been going fast and furious since the tournament began back on June 8. Sports books affiliates with solid soccer content and international player bases have been seeing a really nice number of conversions.
Now that there’s just four teams left, affiliates should be focusing on these final match-ups and looking for the compelling story lines in each one.
Of course there’s plenty to promote in the Spain vs Portugal game today. Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has the Spaniards working overtime figuring out how to stop his furious goal-scoring barrage. Even with Ronaldo, most oddsmakers have the defending champs at around -115 and Portugal at +320. It’s shaping up to be a pretty epic match.
In the other semi-final, Germany is the clear favorite with online sports books were giving odds of around -130. Given their stellar record, that’s not very surprising. Italy is a pretty serious underdog at +400.
It’s not too late to start promoting Euro 2012 content. Check out Euro 2012 Content Tips and Promotions.
Television Ratings
One surprising story that all sports book affiliates should be tracking is the popularity of the Euro 2012 Tournament in the United States. TV ratings for matches on ESPN have been through the roof this year.
According to a recent article in the New York Times titled, Euro 2012: ESPN Scores Big Ratings, ratings for this year’s tournament are up a staggering 61 percent in the US over 2008. Close to three million people watched ESPN’s coverage of Italy vs England on Sunday night and ratings are highest in New York and Miami.
One reason cited for the ratings boost is the relatively slim time zone difference between the US and Poland. This makes slipping out of work early to catch a match a fetching prospect for American office workers.
There are are still three big matches left in the Euro 2012, so don’t miss out in the final action.