It’s my ninth day in the esports editor saddle at Sports Business Journal, and so far, I’ve enjoyed hearing from folks who have reached out (especially those who got in touch after my first newsletter). As I’m new to esports and SBJ, I thought this would be a good opportunity to share my editorial philosophy: I want SBJ to own coverage of the business of esports. Got a deal? Tell us first. Your team makes a big signing, either for a competitor, exec, businessperson, or streamer? Get in touch.
But more important, I want SBJ to explain why this matters to you. Where do these deals fit in the landscape? Why is this player an important signing for this team? Why is this sponsor getting into esports now, and not earlier? How does an exec from an endemic brand make an esports organization better? What new or smaller games have the potential to influence or even transform the esports landscape?
I also want to tell stories about people, how they’ve succeeded, and how they want to grow esports. I want us to lead coverage in how women and underrepresented people are making gains in the industry. I want to explain why people feel esports is going to come back from the pandemic stronger than before.
But I do need your help. As a former colleague always said, “Email is a two-way conversation.” ([email protected] in this case.) This applies to social media and the phone, too. I also plan to host a weekly set of office hours, held on Discord or another platform, in the near future. These will be open to drop-ins to come and chat with me about the industry.
I hope to speak to you soon.
— Jason Wilson
The Call of Duty League’s decision to hold its first live audience event amid the pandemic at the home of OpTic Texas — Esports Stadium Arlington — paid dividends, breaking records for viewership and on-site concession sales, reports SBJ’s Kevin Hitt.
Viewership on YouTube peaked at roughly 186,000 concurrents, a record according to the league. While final numbers weren’t yet available, a company spokesman told SBJ that the four-day event, which saw over 1,800 fans Sunday alone, broke concession sales records for a CDL Major.
“The success of this event is validation of Arlington’s investment in Esports Stadium Arlington,” said Geoff Moore, president and COO of Dallas-based Envy, which owns OpTic Texas. “With almost all ticket buyers from outside of Arlington, and more than half from outside [Dallas-Ft. Worth], this is the sort of event that Arlington was always banking on.” Data shared with SBJ shows that 42% of ticket sales were from Dallas-Ft. Worth. Fans from L.A., Oklahoma City, Miami, Chicago and N.Y. bought more than 6,000 tickets for the four-day event. Saturday and Sunday were also sellouts.
The new record for concurrent viewers was set during the OpTic vs. FaZe Clan finals, based on first-party data from YouTube Analytics. “The tournament-style format creates an experience of unexpected hype where fans can see their favorites clash and underdogs make a run in a way that traditional sports on appointment-based viewing cannot replicate,” said Envy CEO Adam Rymer. “That type entertainment experience — the LAN competitive environment coupled with a live and lively crowd — ultimately make for a better product for viewers watching on broadcast, too.”
Celebs such as Cowboys tight end Dalton Schultz and Packers wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling — along with impromptu autograph lines and photo ops with several popular OpTic streamers and entertainers — set the tone that this was a top-tier event. It’s a look that esports leagues everywhere are trying to replicate.
Mountain Dew, Aim Lab, Razer, and Scuf were quite visibly activating at the event. There were also 3,000 Razer-branded thundersticks give out to fans.
Esports Stadium Arlington set records for a live event last week
Landmark merger and acquisition announcements that stirred up the esports industry to start the year are a signal of two continuing trends in that space — high-profile mergers and acquisitions and consolidation, writes SBJ’s Trent Murray as part of an in-depth for the magazine this week.
Within days of each other, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire Overwatch and Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard for a record $68.7 billion, while Savvy Gaming Group revealed plans to buy ESL Gaming and Faceit for a combined $1.5 billion. Both deals represent the largest such acquisitions in their respective categories and will create ripple effects that alter the course of the esports and gaming industries for years to come.
“Esports is not at scale yet, it’s very small,” said John Fazio, CEO of Philadelphia-based Nerd Street Gamers. “As it scales up … it will create a standard. Having a company like Microsoft in a central position to push that standard is ultimately going to be better for us.”
The industry also appears to be moving back toward a more open, collaborative ecosystem. Whalen Rozelle, Riot Games VP and head of esports operations, said that the publisher has “evolved our perspective on [third-party organizers] over the years.» He noted that third-party organizers were crucial to Riot’s ability to rapidly scale up a global ecosystem for Valorant during its first year.
Check out Murray’s full piece from this week’s magazine. Also read Tobias Seck’s analysis of what the Federal Trade Commission might have to say about the Microsoft-Activision deal.
The sale of Activision Blizzard will give Microsoft ownership of longstanding gaming franchises such as World of Warcraft, Call of Duty and Overwatch to add to a stable that already included Halo, The Elder Scrolls and Minecraft, to name a few.
The additional IP for Microsoft gives the company options within its roster of sports sponsorships — and there is precedent for pushing those games. While still jersey sponsor for the Sounders back in 2015, Microsoft rolled out special «Halo 5: Guardians»-themed jerseys. The MLS team also wore limited edition pre-match training tops, custom-made with Sounders FC and Halo 5: Guardians branding.
Microsoft currently has a league deal with the NFL, and activates with all but one team. It also sponsors a host of teams from the NBA, F1, NWSL, Premier League, NASCAR and LaLiga. Should the Activision deal close, Microsoft could have several branding opportunities there with the popular titles it will acquire.
To gain greater insight into any brand involved in the sports marketplace, head to SBJ Atlas.
Multimedia rights holder CSMG is partnering with several Atlanta-based groups for a new esports festival featuring a number of colleges and universities, writes SBJ’s Kevin Hitt. This effort builds off of the EsportsU initiative that CSMG launched earlier this year.
The Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup will feature teams from a number of schools. CSMG alone has around 400 schools in its stable, as well as conferences like the Horizon League, Big Sky, CAA and Atlantic Sun. Competitors will play Valorant, Overwatch, Rocket League, NBA 2K, and Super Smash Brothers Ultimate.
The Hawks are one the partners for the event, which will be held at Gateway Center Arena, home to the NBA team’s G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks (as well as the WNBA Atlanta Dream). Another partner is Atlanta Esports Ventures, parent company of the Atlanta FaZe (Call of Duty League) and Atlanta Reign (Overwatch League). Other partners include Ghost Gaming, the *gameHERS, HBCU Esports and the Georgia Scholastic Esports Foundation.
“The Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup has a chance to make a major statement for college esports. This is one of the first times we have had multiple titles under one roof,” said Cody Elsen, director and head esports coach at Michigan-based Northwood University. “The EsportsU network has a great reach as well bringing needed exposure to the scene. Not only is the event partnered with esports franchises but the combination of cosplay, esports and music is something that has never been done before in college esports.»
Sony is making a major shakeup to its broadcasting lineup for MLB: The Show, its flagship sports video game (and the biggest baseball game on the market). Jon “Boog” Sciambi (play-by-play voice for the Cubs) and Chris Singleton (analyst for ESPN Radio) will replace Matt Vasgersian, who’s been the voice of MLB: The Show for 16 years.
SBJ’s Jason Wilson (who grew weary of Vasgersian as the voice of the game long ago) wonders if this will impact sales? Last year’s game was, as NPD’ Group’s Mat Piscatella notes, the “best-selling baseball game in U.S. history.”
Piscatella: “While I do enjoy the calls of Jon Sciambi and Chris Singleton very much, I do not believe the addition of the new broadcast team will have a noticeable impact on sales. The biggest factor that will impact sales of MLB: The Show 22 is, of course, the addition of the Nintendo Switch platform to the slate.”
When relatively unknown Savvy Gaming Group (SGG) announced that it was acquiring and merging esports gaming platforms and tournament organizers ESL and Faceit in January, the esports industry was caught completely by surprise, writes SBJ’s Kevin Hitt.
“It’s going to be a little tough,” said Amish Shah, founder and chair of ReKTGlobal. “Savvy Gaming Group just needs to make sure they have sufficient infrastructure and layers while operating independently [from the Saudi PIF]. The more independent they can get and forward facing is better.”
Dominic Kallas, vice president of esports at TSM FTX, who has worked as a private equity analyst and venture capital senior associate before his entry into esports, believes there are quite a few questions to be asked and answered in order to understand how SGG operates. “What I am trying to determine is if Savvy is a front group, a gaming company, a merger and acquisition company. What are they?” he said.
Andy Miller, CEO and founder of NRG Esports, which owns and operates the Overwatch League’s San Francisco Shock, could see a world in which SGG looks to expand its reach in esports to create a more diversified portfolio of properties that bring more people to the Arabian Peninsula.
See more from Hitt’s magazine story.
Under Savvy Gaming Group, ESL Gaming and Faceit will be combined into the ESL Faceit Group to create an end-to-end solution for game publishers and developers, advertisers, esports organizations and communities with a product portfolio including some of esports’ most prominent brands (such as ESL One, Intel Extreme Masters, DreamHack, Faceit and ESEA), event organization and commercialization, content and broadcasting services, online tournament platforms and merchandising, writes SBJ’s Tobias Seck.
While the group will pursue long-term investments and use synergies across its products and services to cross-pollinate, it intends to continue operating its individual brands as usual. Additionally, ESL and Faceit will retain their leadership teams in the new group.
Seck digs deeper into the financial ramifications in this week’s magazine.
Faceit is a leading operator in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive universe
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