Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 4:59 PM on Tuesday, September 24th, 2019
SPONSOR: Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSX-V: EGLX) Uniting gaming communities with 85 owned and affiliated websites, currently reaching over 150 million monthly visitors. The company exceeded 2018 target with $11.0 million in revenue. Learn More
How eSports Could Rival Traditional Sports Like the NFL
Let’s talk eSports.
Riot Games, the company behind League of Legends, announced on
Monday, Sept. 23 that it was partnering with famed fashion house Louis
Vuitton.
Louis Vuitton is designing the case for the Summoner’s Trophy–the award handed out to the winners of the World Championships.
They will also design skins, which can be used in-game in League of Legends.
So, what do partnerships like these mean for eSports? And does this
prove that eSports have the ability to compete against other
sports–such as football?
Naz Aletaha, head of global e-sports partnerships at Riot Games, sat
down with TheStreet to discuss whether or not eSports could one day
rival traditional sports–such as the NFL.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 8:00 AM on Wednesday, September 18th, 2019
Adds 20 mobile video gaming media websites to the Enthusiast Gaming network, increasing the platform to over 100 websites
Expands reach of live event business to include 25 live events across 11 key markets including the US and UK
Adds approximately C$3M in annualized revenue
TORONTO, Sept. 18, 2019 — Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSXV: EGLX), (“Enthusiast Gaming†or the “Companyâ€), is pleased to announce that through its wholly owned subsidiary, Enthusiast Gaming Properties Inc., it has entered into a Share Purchase Agreement (“Agreementâ€) to acquire all of the shares of Steel Media Limited (“Steel Mediaâ€), a leading mobile gaming and live events company.Â
Steel Media owns 20 mobile gaming media websites including:
pocketgamer.com, pocketgamer.biz, appspy.com, and 148apps.com; and is
the owner and operator of over 25 video game networking events across 11
countries, including key markets such as the US and UK. Pocket Gamer (www.pocketgamer.com)
is the world’s leading destination for the mobile gaming community,
including: iPhone, iPad, Android, Nintendo Switch, 3DS and more. As one
of the most recognized brands in the mobile gaming industry, Pocket
Gamer has over 2 million monthly impressions on mobile and web, and
covers multiple sites, events and even printed magazines.
Steel Media is also an industry leader in B2B and consumer mobile
gaming events. It owns and operates numerous successful networking
events around the world with 15,000 registered industry attendees and
key sponsors and partners. Steel Media hosts Pocket Gamer Party, Top 50
Developer Guide, Mobile Mixers, the Mobile Games Awards, and its feature
event, Pocket Gamer Connects, the largest B2B mobile games conference
series, with events in locations such as London, San Francisco, Helsinki
and Seattle with additional locations coming soon. The Steel Media team
will continue operating the business and led by its Chief Executive
Officer, Chris James.
The acquisition of Steel Media unlocks a new audience segment for
Enthusiast Gaming, the highly coveted and rapidly growing mobile gaming
segment. Further, the acquisition aligns with Enthusiast Gaming’s
strategy of growing its total audience reach across the entire gaming
market through accretive acquisitions both within its online media
segment and expanding events business. Combined with Steel Media,
Enthusiast Gaming’s digital network will reach more than 100 properties
and significantly increases its mix of owned and operated sites in its
network.
Menashe Kestenbaum, President of Enthusiast Gaming commented, “We
have seen a significant increase in mobile gaming and it continues to
be a huge segment within the overall gaming industry. The acquisition of
Steel Media aligns with our growth strategy through M&A and also
the continued expansion of our events division.†He continued,
“Steel Media has built a well-recognized brand and successful businesses
across mobile, B2B and events that will allow us to continue
capitalizing on the growth of mobile gaming and drive further revenue
synergies across two of our three pillars, Media and Events.â€
The Agreement
Pursuant to the terms of the Agreement, Enthusiast Gaming has agreed
to (i) a cash payment of approximately US$2,969,000 with US$1,968,536 to
be paid on closing (US$1,000,000 net of cash on hand) and the balance
to be paid on the first anniversary of the date of closing and (ii)
issue US$500,000 worth of common shares in the capital of the Company (“CommonSharesâ€)
at a deemed price per share equal to the 5 day volume weighted average
trading price. In addition, Enthusiast Gaming has agreed to an earn out
payment of up to US$500,000 based on the performance of Steel Media.
The Agreement remains subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. Any
Common Shares issued in connection with the Agreement will be subject to
a 12 month hold period from the date of issuance.
About Enthusiast Gaming
Enthusiast Gaming (TSX.V:EGLX) is one of the largest vertically
integrated video game and esports companies in the world. The Company’s
digital platform includes +85 gaming related websites and 900 YouTube
channels which collectively reach 150 million visitors monthly.
Enthusiast’s esports division, Luminosity Gaming, a leading global
esports organization consists of 8 professional esports teams under
ownership and management, including the #1 ranked Overwatch team, the
Vancouver Titans and over 50 gaming influencers with a total audience of
60 million followers. Collectively, the community reaches over 200
million gaming enthusiasts on a monthly basis. Enthusiast also owns and
operates Canada’s largest gaming expo, Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo,
EGLX, (eglx.ca) with approximately 55,000 people attending in 2018. For more information on the Company, visit www.enthusiastgaming.com. For more information on Luminosity Gaming, please visit luminosity.gg.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Investor Relations: Julia Becker Head of Investor Relations & Marketing Telephone: 604-785-0850 Email: [email protected]
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements in this release are forward-looking
statements. Forward looking statements consist of statements that are
not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs,
plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results,
performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in
the statements, including risks related to factors beyond the control
of Enthusiast Gaming. The risks include risks that are customary to
transactions of this nature and customary to companies which have their
stock traded on the TSXV. No assurance can be given that any of the
events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if
they do occur, what benefits Enthusiast Gaming will obtain from them.
For instance, there can be no assurance that the acquisition will close
as anticipated, that the acquisition will position the Company as a
leader in the mobile gaming sector and that the acquisition will result
in growth of the Company’s online and offline gaming community.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or
solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United
States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under
the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S.
Securities Actâ€) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or
sold within the United States or to a U.S. Person unless registered
under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an
exemption from such registration is available.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 12:03 PM on Tuesday, September 17th, 2019
SPONSOR: Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc.
(TSX-V: EGLX) Uniting gaming communities with 85 owned and affiliated
websites, currently reaching over 150 million monthly visitors. The
company exceeded 2018 target with $11.0 million in revenue. Learn More
————-
Gaming heavyweights raise $17M for new esports network
VENN is set to launch in 2020 and aims to give the fragmented
esports scene a home base for content with higher production value than
gamers are used to with online streaming.
The network was co-founded by four-time Emmy-winning producer Ariel
Horn and entrepreneur Ben Kusin and has raised $17 million from
investors including co-founders from Twitch, Riot Games and Blizzard
Entertainment.
NEW YORK — A new venture backed by many of video gaming’s biggest
publishers is unveiling a network that hopes to be to esports what ESPN
has been to traditional sports.
VENN is set to launch in 2020 and aims to give the fragmented esports
scene a home base for content with higher production value than gamers
are used to with online streaming. The network was co-founded by
four-time Emmy-winning producer Ariel Horn and entrepreneur Ben Kusin
and has raised $17 million from investors including co-founders from
Twitch, Riot Games and Blizzard Entertainment.
VENN, short for Video Game Entertainment and News Network, will debut
with live studios in New York and Los Angeles. There is expected to be
55 hours of original programming per week, including gamer streams, talk
shows, documentaries and live esport events. It already has deals in
place to broadcast on Twitch and YouTube and expects to be available on
mediums like Roku or Sling.
Esports revenues are expected to top $1 billion this year, and global
viewership numbers are rivaling those of traditional sports — nearly
100 million viewers watched last year’s League of Legends world
championship, roughly on par with TV viewership for the Super Bowl.
Yet the industry remains disjointed. Just like not all football fans
also watch hockey, Fortnite players aren’t necessarily keeping tabs on
League of Legends or Overwatch. Creating a common space for all those
gamers has proven difficult. Perhaps the closest thing is the online
streaming platform Twitch, but gamers there tend to find streams
specific to their interest, creating little overlap with other gaming
domains.
VENN hopes to solve that with content built around the culture of gaming.
“I think we’re more of a hybridized ESPN and what MTV TRL (Total
Request Live) was when it launched decades ago,” Kusin said. “That
crossover that it brought music in that generation in the culture.”
It’s a lofty pitch, but one that’s proven credible to many of
gaming’s most influential names. The group’s initial investors include
Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill, Blizzard Entertainment co-founder
Mike Morhaime, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin and aXiomatic Gaming, an
investment group behind Team Liquid and Epic Games. That gives VENN
financial connections to esports’ biggest titles — Riot owns League of
Legends, Blizzard is behind Overwatch and Call of Duty, and Epic
publishes Fortnite — as well as some of its biggest teams.
“We could go to these luminaries in the industry and say, ‘Hey, we
want to come together, be swift, work with a bunch of different titles, a
bunch of different publishers and move the industry forward in terms of
its recognition and prominence, will you help us?'” Kusin said. “The
answer was a resounding yes.”
Horn’s presence is a big part of that. Formerly a sports producer at
NBC, he has become a pioneering figure in esports. His achievements
included a sports Emmy in 2017 for his role in landing an augmented
reality dragon inside a stadium during the 2017 League of Legends World
Championships opening ceremony and a successful New Year’s Eve stream by
Ninja from Times Square last year.
“Taking what’s already there on a platform that (gamers) understand,
and taking that into a network environment, that’s what we’re looking to
do,” Horn said.
Vancouver Canucks buy Call of Duty pro esports team
Canucks Sports & Entertainment is diving even further into the growing esports scene.
The organization has announced that they’ve partnered up with Enthusiast Gaming, a video game and esports company, and franchised a professional Call of Duty team.
The announcement comes less than a year after the Vancouver Titans, Vancouver’s professional Overwatch team, were unveiled to the public.
“Esports has shown extraordinary growth and we’re excited to be at
the forefront with a new Call of Duty esports team,†Canucks owner
Francesco Aquilini said in a statement. “With the continued support and
expertise of our partners at Luminosity and Enthusiast Gaming, we
believe the new Call of Duty esports league is also well-positioned for
success.â€
The newly-franchised team won’t be sharing space with the Canucks,
the Titans, or the Warriors, however. Day-to-day operations and home
games of the new team will be based out of Seattle.
The Aquilini Group and Canucks Sports & Entertainment will
oversee the new franchise, while Luminosity Gaming, another partner
esports organization, will handle player recruitment.
The league they’ll be playing in
The Seattle-based team will be playing in a brand new league owned by
Activision, the video game company responsible for Call of Duty.
From 2016 to 2019, the company owned and oversaw the Call of Duty World League (CWL). Activision recently announced on Reddit that
they would be closing the current professional league and creating a
brand new one. Similar to the Overwatch League (OWL), the new league
will be franchised with city-based teams from around the world.
Activision said that
so far, there are 12 teams included in the league: Seattle, London,
Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, Florida, Minnesota, New York, Paris, Toronto,
and two teams in Los Angeles.
Teams will have between seven to 10 members and similar to other
professional sports leagues, players will sign contracts and enter free
agency.
The company also says that in this new league, pro players will
receive a minimum base salary of $50,000 (USD) per year, health and
retirement benefits, and housing. At least 50% of a team’s prize pool
earning must also go towards the players.
More details about the league, its franchised teams, and how play will work will be announced in the near future.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 9:22 AM on Friday, September 13th, 2019
Partnered with Canucks Sports & Entertainment
Agreement has been reached with Activision Blizzard to own and field a Seattle-based team in the newly franchised Call of Duty® esports league
Enthusiast Gaming holds a non-controlling interest in the new team
Day-to-day operations and home games of the new franchise will be based in Seattle, Washington and will be overseen by the Company and Canucks Sports & Entertainment.
Toronto, Ontario–(September 13, 2019) –  Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSXV: EGLX) (“Enthusiast Gaming” or the “Company“), in partnership with Canucks Sports & Entertainment, announced today that an agreement has been reached with Activision Blizzard to own and field a Seattle-based team in the newly franchised Call of Duty® esports league. Enthusiast Gaming holds a non-controlling interest in the new team.
The day-to-day operations and home games of the new franchise will be
based in Seattle, Washington and will be overseen by the Company and
Canucks Sports & Entertainment. Enthusiast Gaming, through its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Luminosity Gaming Inc., will manage the team
and player procurement through a long-term management services agreement
with the majority owner.
“Working in partnership with the Aquilini Group and Canucks
Sports & Entertainment, we will build a competitive, first-class
team that esports fans in the Pacific Northwest will be proud of,” said Steve Maida, Esports President, Enthusiast Gaming. “With
our experience in building successful teams with Luminosity Gaming and
having been involved with Activision Blizzard with the Vancouver Titans
since inception, we are excited to get started and develop a winning
team and culture.”
More details of the league, team and schedule will be announced in
the near future. For updates and information on the new Seattle Call of
Duty Esports team, follow @SeattleCOD on Twitter, Facebook, Twitch and
Instagram.
About Enthusiast Gaming
Enthusiast Gaming (TSXV: EGLX) is one of the largest vertically
integrated video game and esports companies in the world. The Company’s
digital platform includes +85 gaming related websites and 900 YouTube
channels which collectively reach 150 million visitors monthly.
Enthusiast’s esports division, Luminosity Gaming, a leading global
esports organization consists of 8 professional esports teams under
ownership and management, including the #1 ranked Overwatch team, the
Vancouver Titans and over 50 gaming influencers with a total audience of
60 million followers. Collectively, the community reaches over 200
million gaming enthusiasts on a monthly basis. Enthusiast also owns and
operates Canada’s largest gaming expo, Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo,
EGLX, (eglx.ca) with approximately 55,000 people attending in 2018. For more information on the Company, visit www.enthusiastgaming.com. For more information on Luminosity Gaming, please visit luminosity.gg.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Investor Relations: Julia Becker Head of Investor Relations & Marketing Telephone: 604-785-0850 Email: [email protected]
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements in this release are forward-looking
statements. Forward looking statements consist of statements that are
not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs,
plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results,
performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in
the statements, including risks related to factors beyond the control
of Enthusiast Gaming. The risks include risks that are customary to
transactions of this nature and customary to companies which have their
stock traded on the TSXV. No assurance can be given that any of the
events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if
they do occur, what benefits Enthusiast Gaming will obtain from them.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or
solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United
States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under
the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S.
Securities Act”) or any state securities laws and may not be offered or
sold within the United States or to a U.S. Person unless registered
under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an
exemption from such registration is available.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange
nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this release.
One of the biggest esports organizations in the world will begin construction Tuesday on a 25,000-square-foot training center in Playa Vista.
The $13-million facility is slated to be completed by February 2020 and will be the home of Team SoloMid (TSM), which fields players and esports teams competing in popular video games such as “League of Legends,†“Fortnite,†“Apex Legends,†“PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds†(PUBG), “Hearthstone,†“Super Smash Bros.,†“Rocket League†and others.
Currently TSM players and staff are spread out around the world with
their “League of Legends†team based in Santa Monica, their PUBG team
living in Europe and other players and staff working out of various
WeWork locations.
“League of Legends†is the most popular title in the billion-dollar
world of competitive gaming and TSM’s “League of Legends†team won six
of the first 10 splits of the North American League of Legends
Championship Series, essentially making them the Lakers or Warriors in
that space.
TSM’s “League of Legends” team won six of the first 10 splits of
the North American League of Legends Championship Series. A rendering of
the esports training center is shown.
(Rendering by NxT Studios)
The facility, shown in a rendering, will be the largest esports training facility in North America.
(Rendering by NxT Studios)
“I actually toured the Lakers and Warriors facilities as we thought
about our facility,†TSM founder and CEO Andy “Reginald†Dinh told The
Times. “What they built was great for basketball players and we wanted
to build a similar facility catered for esports players. We want to have
the best training environment for our players. We want to make sure our
players and staff have everything they need to succeed. Over the next
10-20 years we want to maintain our position as a global esports
leader.â€
The facility will be the largest esports training facility in North
America when it opens and will house studios, streaming rooms, gaming
rooms, coach rooms as well as a fitness studio and wellness center,
making it the first esports training center to include both.
The facility, shown in a rendering, will be the first esports training center to include a fitness studio and wellness center.
(Rendering by NxT Studios)
“Having all the players in one space and tracking how they perform,
that’s where we can have the largest areas of growth,†Dinh said. “We’re
focused on data science and physical science so we’re going to have a
gym and a full-time sports psychologist there so our players have
everything they need in order to perform better. Most esports teams
don’t have this. We’re going to take it to a new level.â€
The esports industry is growing at a rapid rate, and along with it is also a new form of gambling called “esports betting.â€
The esports betting industry is expected to continue to grow even more over the next couple of years, becoming a multibillion-dollar industry.
Bear in mind that unlike physical sports, which have a very large
fanbase and following, the esports betting industry has a very limited
audience. As a result, not too many people have an idea of what esports
betting is. Only those who follow the esports industry may have heard of
it.
So, What is Esports Betting?
For those who don’t know, esports is the shortened term for
electronic sports, which usually refer to competitive video gaming.
Playing competitive video games is not an entirely new concept. In fact,
a lot of gamers have been competing with one another ever since the
first gaming consoles have been released. What’s new is what we now call
esports betting, which is starting to attract the attention of many
gamblers from around the world.
Simply put, esports betting is a form of online gambling wherein you
put your money on a team or player that plays competitive video games.
As mentioned earlier, esports betting is a very huge business and it
is expected to become a multibillion-dollar industry soon as esports as a
whole continues to grow. As the world of video gaming can be very
competitive, there are now thousands of professional gamers from
different video games who compete with one another because of the prize.
And, when there is money, there is always gambling. With the rise of
this industry, you can now go to online esports betting sites such as Vulkanbet Esports to place your bets and gamble on-the-go.
How Esports Betting Works
Esports betting is completely different from physical sports
gambling. In esports betting, you are allowed to place a bet on a team
of professional gamers or on individual players who you think will win
the match or tournament.
However, since there are plenty of esports games, the betting system
and options are usually different from one another. Esports betting also
welcomes beginners who are not familiar with esports and offer them
with numerous betting opportunities.
Currently, the simplest betting option is to bet on an overall
winner. You simply place a bet on a team or player who you think will
win the match after you have carefully studied the odds. This is what
makes esports betting really interesting: you are given some betting
odds that will let you have a good idea of the match’s outcome or who
will win. You’ll need to learn how to study these odds before you bet if
you want to earn a lot of money from esports betting.
Types of Esports Betting
It’s challenging to identify the different types of bets on esports since they usually depend on the video game. For example, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO),
which is a fast-paced first-person shooter game, provides exciting
betting opportunities that allow you to place a bet on which team wins
the first round of the game.
On the other hand, DoTA 2,
a real-time strategy multiplayer online battle arena, allows you to
place a bet on which player or team kills Roshan (the most powerful
Neutral Creep in the map who’s considered to be a miniboss) first. These
bets are not dependent on which team wins the entire match, but on the
objectives achieved throughout the match.
Here are the three most common types of esports betting that you are usually offered by many betting sites:
Outrights Betting – These are bets that you are allowed
to place before the tournament or match starts. You bet on which team
will become the overall winner of the tournament, or which players
progress to the next stage of the event. You are also allowed to place
bets on teams or players who you think will be eliminated once the
tournament starts.
Match Winner – This is the most common type of bet in esports. You place a bet on a team or player who you think will win a single match.
Totals – This is the type of bet that is dependent on
stats. Here, you can place your bet on which team or player has the most
number of kills, maps or rounds played, total points, etc.
Conclusion
The future of esports betting looks very promising
as more and more people are getting into the exciting betting action of
video games. Whether you are new to esports or are an avid esports fan,
this is the perfect time for you to join the fun and excitement that
esports betting brings. Aside from that, you can potentially earn a lot
of money from it while enjoying some competitive video games at the same
time.
Anheuser-Busch is Pouring Beer and Money Into Esports
Anheuser-Busch is one of the brands
that isn’t shy about embracing esports. It is a non-endemic brand,
meaning it isn’t born and bred with gamers the way that, say, esports
headsets are. It’s a mainstream brand looking to break into the
previously insular world of esports a with authentic experiential
marketing.
Some brands have been wary of the unpredictability of esports. The
games come and go. The athletes can blow big deals with their big
mouths. And fans don’t always behave in a becoming way at esports
events. But it’s the job of Joe Barnes,
director of experiential marketing at Anheuser-Busch InBev, to make
sure that his company is represented in the right way in front of the
right consumers of esports as the “official beer of esports.â€
MillenThere’s a lot of money at stake, but Barnes believes that big
brands have to be nimble when it comes to getting behind a big trend
among young adults. He isn’t waiting for competitors to arrive. He is
pushing ahead of them with the mission of making Bud Light and other
Anheuser-Busch products the beer of choice for a new generation of
esports fans. I’ll be moderating a session with Barnes at the Esports BAR Miami event in October.
Here’s an edited transcript of our interview.
Above: Joe Barnes, director of experiential marketing at Anheuser-Busch InBevImage Credit: Anheuser-Busch
GamesBeat: What does your job entail? The experiential part is intriguing there.
Joe Barnes: I lead the Anheuser Busch portfolio in
the U.S. I lead our sports sponsorship strategy. Additionally I do the
experiential marketing for esports, soccer, and our emerging properties,
which also covers fighting and women’s sports and a few other things.
Our experiential marketing team is part of our consumer connections
team. We’re focusing on how we can impact and influence consumer
decisions at the point of their passion points.
With Bud Light, one of those is esports. We’re trying to–how can we
get fans to start experiencing our product in a different way? Right
now, within esports, our biggest challenge is that there’s not the
traditional norms within the sports industry where it’s very in-person
and communal. “We’re going to bars to watch the games. We’re gonna watch
the NFL game at the sports bar and get pitchers of Bud Light.â€
It’s much different within esports. That’s where experiential for us
is a big lever that we try to pull. At events, the consumers are with
community, not just their virtual community. That gives us a true point
to interact with them and introduce them to Bud Light. As crazy as it
sounds, a lot of these consumers that are becoming the 21-27 year old
are growing up without drinking Bud Light, or beer at all. Their main
drink is Red Bull, energy drinks. We’re trying to bring in these beer
occasions to esports, just like we’ve established 100 years ago within
traditional sports.
GamesBeat: I don’t know how much gamers drink beer. Are you guys endemic or non-endemic to games and esports?
Barnes: We definitely consider ourselves
non-endemic. The key challenge, when people ask us–what’s our value
proposition in esports? We’re not going to make your internet faster.
We’re not going to make your screen bigger. We’re not going to give you
better posture in a nice chair. For us, we can offer the fan something
different.
This week we announced another Twitch program, and in another month
we’ll be announcing another one. The Bud Light Twitch channel is our key
asset within esports. First and foremost, in this community, we’re able
to age gate our channel, so only 21 and up is able to interact with Bud
Light. That obviously a huge concern with the traditionally younger
audience. But within our Bud Light Twitch channel, we can offer gamers
something in addition to the game.
We’re not endemic, like I say. We’re not part of the game. But what
we can do–I’ll give you an example. We just launched, this past Tuesday,
the Bud Light Beer League, which is an amateur Tekken tournament.
Amateurs can win a chance to become a pro esports athlete and compete at
the Tekken grand finals in Bangkok for a huge payout. Our value
proposition here is that we’ll host a tournament, and we’re going to do
it for gamers, not just esports athletes. We’re going to give them the
opportunity to win prizes. And what can Bud Light do that someone else
can’t do? We’ll give you a chance to become a pro.
Above: Anheuser-Busch doesn’t want esports fans to become wine drinkers.Image Credit: Anheuser-Busch
That’s much different from our strategy with Overwatch League.
We’re the official beer sponsor of Overwatch League. Our Twitch channel
content with that one, it’s Bud Light Happy Hour. Every week we have
two hosts talking for 20 minutes, essentially a Sportscenter of
Overwatch League, where they look at the past and they talk about key
storylines coming up. It’s set at a bar environment with beers, with
neons and things, just to establish that–as you’re hanging out and
talking about esports, it’s happy hour. Get excited about tonight and
have some Bud Light. That’s the behavior that we’re trying to get people
introduced to.
Then, within Overwatch League, since this is the first year they’ve
ever done live in-person events, we also sponsor all of the homestand
weekends. We had consumer experiences and giveaways. We put them in what
we call the Bud Light Watchtower, playing on the Overwatch IP. It’s the
most premium seat within all the venues, where we’ll invite guests to
hang out with influencers, streamers and professional gamers. Free Bud
Light, the best seats, and the best experience you could possibly have.
When you drink Bud Light, when you’re playing games and Bud Light’s your
beer of choice, the opportunities are endless for cool experiences. We
consider ourselves the leader in terms of offering premium experiences
for consumers.
GamesBeat: There’s been a lot of attention on esports hype. There was a long Kotaku story that talked about the mismeasurement of the audiences. I’ve interviewed someone from Nielsen
— that story just ran — on how they’re doing measurement of the esports
audience as well. These things are brand new. The information and the
data still needs work.
Barnes: 100 percent. We do our own independent data
collection. We do partner with Nielsen, and we value them and their
partnership across all of our sports properties. That’s one of the
reasons we use them. We also use a few other research companies, and
then we always have–if we’re doing streams we have Twitch analytics. If
we’re doing events we have exit surveys. We have a whole lot that–right
now the key for us is data collection. Whether the true audience size of
Overwatch League fans is 10 million or if it’s 100 million, for us
right now, using whatever the data is, how can we use that data to
inform how we interact with the fans?
It’s not necessarily about the numbers. We know the numbers are big.
We may not know exactly how big. But for us what’s most interesting is,
what are the consumer habits? What are the consumer passion points? How
do we offer value back to the fans?
GamesBeat: In some sense I guess you would like better
measurement, but there’s enough precision out there for you to take
action and do what you need to do.
Barnes: That’s exactly it. For us it’s more about,
are we asking the right questions with the research? Rather than, do we
have the exact right sample data, and do we know the exact figures? For
us it’s about fine-tuning the right questions and finding the right
passion points for consumers.
Above: Bud Light wants to be the official beer of esports.Image Credit: Anheuser-Busch
GamesBeat: As far as the comparisons people make to
traditional sports, what are your own observations about that? How soon
do you think this catches up, or in what ways will they always be
different?
Barnes: There is some crossover, and that’s
what–when we’re trying to segment the real size of the prize, we look at
the different consumer groups. There are the passionate, die-hard
esports fans and athletes, and then there’s more casual gamers. What we
see with the crossover with traditional sports — and this is very rich
territory, because we have a league sponsorship with three of the top
four core leagues — we want to see what is the crossover and how we can
act on that.
What’s really starting the big crossover is that pro athletes in
other sports are playing video games, whether it’s on Twitch or in their
free time. They’re all big gamers. Juju Smith-Schuster, right? He’s a
big gamer and he plays in the NFL. He reaches both. For Bud Light that’s
super compelling. He’s a partner with us with the NFL, and we can look
at partnering with him for esports. How can we tap into both consumer
bases? Most people out there play Fortnite, and most people watch the
NFL. What are the efficiencies Bud Light could have with that?
The other thing we look at, we have some data that shows that amongst
gaming fans, Game of Thrones was as popular as the NFL. That may not be
their number two or three passion point behind video games, it’s still
top 10. There’s a lot of ways we can use our NFL partnerships and others
to reach those fans. Right now, most brands and most esports teams are
focusing on the esports strategy. We think there’s a lot of rich
territory for crossover between true sports and esports.
GamesBeat: As far as which esports to bet on, what are your
views there? Do you feel like you have to make bets and back certain
games or certain events? Or can you stay above that and reach the whole
audience in some way?
Barnes: I don’t think there’s one league that could
be a silver bullet for an esports strategy. When we look at it, it’s
going to require multiple partnerships in order to reach a big portion
of the fans. We want Bud Light to be for everyone. How do we get to the
biggest level there? It’s a mix. As we’ve already announced, in 2019 we
have partnerships with the Overwatch League, with Tekken 7, and with
NBA2K. We prefer to be looking with those at how we can reach consumers,
how we can keep new and interesting partnerships like the Beer League —
which can rotate in different titles — so we can reach more and more
fans. We also want to use influencers within key games and titles to
influence and reach those consumers as well.
There has to be a mix. There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach with
one title. For us it’s a mix of assets. It’s about reach and what’s the
best thing we can do to reach all those consumers, or at least a
significant portion of them.
Above: Anheuser-Busch is experimenting with esports marketing.Image Credit: Anheuser-Busch
GamesBeat: So far, can you reiterate which games you’ve
backed in some way, or that you’ve worked closely with and are happy
with?
Barnes: We have our partnership with the Overwatch
League, which is a global partnerships. Then, in the U.S., we have an
NBA2K partnership, which we just announced at the end of our season.
We’re planning 2020 right now. Then we have a Tekken 7 partnership,
which will be for the Bud Light Beer League. It’ll be a mix of–it’s
primarily Twitch streaming and the online tournament, and then there
will be a few live event components as well. Overwatch League, for us
that’s been a live event and a Twitch stream component as well. We’re
looking for not only a mix of partners, but a mix of assets within each
partnership.
GamesBeat: What about following some of these celebrity
gamers, or top athletes within different esports? Would you do deals
with individuals like that in addition to the league partnerships?
Barnes: Definitely. Arguably the most marketable and
popular name would be Ninja. A few years ago, during our Bud Light All
Stars program, which was before my time, we had a Ninja partnership.
This year we’re partnered with a few influencers. We’ve used them more
tactically, rather than just signing the biggest name. It’s about how we
can use them to propel our Twitch content and help us to activate.
We’ve been using influencer streams to promote our live events for
Overwatch League. Before each homestand weekend we do influencer streams
where they take over and give away consumer tickets to our Bud Light
Watchtower experience.
Then, for 2020, we’re looking for partners that are, let’s say,
endemic to beer. They already like to engage with the product. They have
a large reach and are playing various titles. That’s great for us,
because while it’s sometimes difficult for us to be involved with
certain games, we can partner with the top streamers — as long as
they’re over 21 — to create cool content and give that back to
consumers.
GamesBeat: Some people have always talked about how esports
and games are unpredictable. Sometimes you get bad behavior among the
athletes, or strange things happening at events. This is supposed to be
scary to brands. What are your thoughts on that, whether that’s
manageable?
Barnes: I can answer that question in a few parts.
One, in the current environment, whether it’s traditional sports or
esports, as a brand you have to be nimble. You have to act fast. You
have to be able to react to trends and react to what’s going on.
We understand that esports is in its infancy, and there are
challenges that come along with that. But for us it’s worth it, knowing
that we can be the brand, the beer brand, that is the beer of esports.
We’re the official beer of esports, the official beer of games, the
official beer of gamers. We did that for a reason. When we look at what
consumers are talking about on social media, we have 70 percent share of
voice amongst beer brands. Our competitors aren’t even really in the
same sphere as us right now, and we want to keep leaning into that. As
this grows, we know that we’ll continue to grow with it, and we can
continue to dominate the share of esports.
As far as the question around titles, yes, we’re constantly watching
what’s hot, what’s up and coming. You look at what happened this summer.
Was Fortnite going to get dethroned by a little-known title from EA?
And then a few weeks later, it fell off the radar. We need to continue
to monitor, continue to watch, and that’s great for us, because it’s an
opportunity to work with the top streamers. They can switch playing
games. When something’s hot they can play that. When it falls off they
can play something else and still reach their fanbase.
We have to be nimble. We have to be a part of it. We can’t just be a
big, slow brand. We have to be able to act within the space at the pace
it’s going.
Above: Social media multiplies the impact of esports marketing.Image Credit: Anheuser-Busch
GamesBeat: How do you find the right people in this business
in order to do all those things fast? As you say, it’s fairly new still.
Barnes: The key thing for us is research. We like to
make fact-based decisions. Of course we have to play in the margin of
error, because it’s always changing so fast. We have to use good
judgment. But we have a great team of agencies that support us on all
our initiatives, help provide that research, help provide the insight on
everything that’s going on.
GamesBeat: Is the team pretty large there, that focuses on esports?
Barnes: I lead it for Bud Light in the U.S. I’m
supported by the brand team. They’re doing everything else. It’s a bit
of a team effort internally. But then I also have my agencies that are
more solely focused on esports. I have teams that are dedicated, that
are experts in the space. They’re former gamers, former publishers. They
offer the expertise and insight that can really help us to refine our
strategy and act quickly.
GamesBeat: Do you happen to know Mark Friedler? He’s a
long-time gaming person that just joined Anheuser Busch on the biz dev
side for esports.
Barnes: I’ve had one call with Mark. He’s consulting
with our ZX Ventures arm. Our ZX Ventures mission is to disrupt
ourselves. What are these trends that could disrupt beer, and how do we
essentially become a part of it before it can eat us alive? He’s
consulting on the gaming aspect of that, because like I mentioned
earlier, there’s not a ritual within esports like going to the bar on
Sunday to watch the NFL. We’re looking at how we can bring these
experiences, these rituals, into the U.S. gamer’s world.
GamesBeat: TopGolf is converting a lot of their bars into esports bars recently for local gatherings.
Barnes: Yeah, TopGolf is a great partner. Usually
when they roll into town they become one of the top beer sellers in
their market, because people really love the value proposition. If they
continue to expand into esports or more VR types of activities, I
consider that a win. They put their beverage venue at the top of the
list for their priorities. It always helps us when we can help the
category expand in this space.
GamesBeat: You have to think about a lot of different opportunities as far as how to get a win for a product.
Barnes: Definitely. What we’re seeing, this is such a
digitally native, such an on-demand type of consumer. It’s different
from who we try to reach with, say, Major League Baseball. There, you
have an older fan. They skew to an age around 45. Gamers skew around 23.
How beer comes to life for them is much different.
What we did two weeks ago for the Overwatch League homestand weekend
in Los Angeles, we did a Drizly promotion targeting L.A. with one of the
top players on the L.A. Valiant. Drizly is an online alcohol delivery
service. We said, “Hey, L.A., you guys like tech. You don’t like doing
things in person. But if you order Bud Light from Drizly, you’ll get the
chance to not only get your beer, but your beer could be delivered by
Custa from the L.A. Valiant, and he’ll give you VIP passes to the Bud
Light Watchtower.â€
Custa went out and delivered that beer to an unexpecting consumer.
He’s from Australia, so he ended up what they call shooting the boot,
shotgunning it out of a shoe. He did it with the consumer. Everyone had a
great time. For us, that’s how we break through. We’re not going to be
talking to the Valiant consumer in the way that they want to be reached.
We want to be content creators, not content interrupters. We want to
have them tune in to watch something because they think it’s cool — it’s
their favorite player and their favorite team — rather than just
serving them an ad on Twitch.
When you’re non-endemic you have to think much differently about the
space. You have to find ways to offer value to the consumer while the
endemic brands are doing it in a much different way.
Above: Influencers are part of the esports marketing plan.Image Credit: Anheuser-Busch
GamesBeat: What do you plan to talk about at Esports BAR in Miami?
Barnes: Stuart Saw and I are co-keynoting. Endeavor
is our esports agency in the U.S. We have a lot of programs that we’ve
developed together between Anheuser Busch and Endeavor. For a lot of it,
it’s going to be talking about what we’re doing to reach consumers as a
non-endemic brand. It’s exactly what we’ve talked about, but in more
detail, with more videos and concrete examples that people can see, as
well as some of the data.
By October we’ll have a lot of data for how this is working so far.
We just ran our first social listening test, where we figured out that
we’re now 70 percent of social share voice, which is huge for us.
Consumers aren’t talking about beer brands because they want to. It’s
because we’re offering something crazy and unique to them, something
that gets them excited. They’re talking about this in their free time.
It’s not just industry. We hope to have a lot more of those examples by
then.
In addition, we’re hoping to have a very cool–it’s not fully
finalized, but a very cool Overwatch League grand finals activation.
We’re hoping to propel that message beyond what just core gamers and
Overwatch League fans care about, but also transcend the message for the
whole city of Philadelphia. Bud Light has a very rich history with
Philadelphia, with things like the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl win,
where we gave free beer to the city of Philadelphia. For this to come
back to Philly, there’s a lot of excitement and a lot of cool things
we’re planning. The Overwatch League finals are the week before Esports
BAR, so we’re hoping to share a lot of cool things, and a full Overwatch
League recap as well.
GamesBeat: Is your whole industry as active as you guys are, or do you feel like you’re ahead?
Barnes: We’re significantly ahead of our
competitors. That’s where we want to be. We have much different
approaches to esports. Our competitor, earlier in the year, their big
esports moment of the year was announcing that they were turning a beer
can into a controller. They had an event at E3 where the controller
couldn’t connect to Bluetooth and no one could play.
We really try to stay clear, like I said, of being an endemic brand
that will make your gameplay better. We want to be the beer for fans,
the beer for casual gamers, and the beer for esports athletes when
they’re not on the screen, so to speak. We want to play to our
strengths. It’s just a much different approach.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 10:29 AM on Thursday, September 5th, 2019
SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment
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projected at $23 BILLION by 2020. The company has launched VIE.gg
esports betting platform and has accelerated affiliate marketing
agreements with 190 Esports teams. Click here for more information
In just a decade, electronic sports (eSports) has evolved from an underground culture into a mainstream industry worth billions of dollars today
The industry is growing at an explosive rate, and with major tech giants like Amazon and Google vying for a piece of the pie, the future of this industry is an exciting one.
How the eSports Industry Fares Against Traditional Sports
In just a decade, electronic sports (eSports) has evolved from an
underground culture into a mainstream industry worth billions of dollars
today.
The industry is growing at an explosive rate, and with major tech giants like Amazon and Google vying for a piece of the pie, the future of this industry is an exciting one.
It’s no surprise that eSports is often compared to its predecessor,
traditional sports. However, eSports certainly has none of the typical
confines of a traditional sport—so how does it compare in terms of
audience size, market potential, and revenue?
An Equal Playing Field?
eSports is an umbrella term for competitions played on electronic
systems, typically by professional video gamers—with the first
competition dating back to 1972.
The 16 to 24-year-old audience has increased by 60% since 2017,
fueling the rapid growth of this emerging industry. The global audience
is expected to grow to 276 million by 2022, with League of Legends tournaments often boasting a higher viewership than some of the biggest U.S. leagues:
Cumulative Viewership (2017 finals)
NFL Super Bowl: 124 million viewers
League of Legends: 58 million viewers
MLB World Series: 38 million viewers
NBA Finals: 32 million viewers
NHL Stanley Cup Finals: 11 million viewers
While viewership can surpass that of well-known professional leagues,
it doesn’t yet stack up in terms of monetization. That said, this
aspect is now increasing enough to be seen as a threat to more
traditional leagues.
How Much is eSports Worth?
According to Goldman Sachs, eSports will exceed $1 billion in revenue
in 2019, and reach $3 billion by 2022. eSports creates the foundation
for an entire ecosystem
of opportunities, which include live-streaming, game development,
player fanbases, and brand investments for sponsorship and
advertising—where 82% of revenue currently comes from.
Although eSports under-indexes on monetization relative to the size
of its audience, there is a huge opportunity for it to close the gap,
given the predicted 35% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for total
eSports revenue between 2017 and 2022.
Getting Attention from the World’s Biggest Players
The success of eSports tournaments is attributed to live-streaming
platforms. Amazon’s purchase of leading video-streaming site, Twitch,
allowed Amazon to tap into the rapidly growing eSports audience, along
with other live-streaming opportunities. Since the acquisition in 2014,
the number of average viewers has doubled to 15 million, half of
YouTube’s daily viewership.
Google, which lost the bidding war for Twitch, has recently made its own big move into gaming with cloud gaming service Google Stadia. Ultimately, the company hopes it will help keep live-streamers on YouTube instead of competing platforms.
The Future of eSports
Over time, eSports will tap into bigger advertising budgets, and
reach national, regional, and global levels, as traditional sports are
able to. eSports will also be a medal event in the 2022 Asian Games, which could pave the way for full Olympic status.
As a whole, eSports is starting to seriously compete with the big
leagues. With a massive worldwide appeal, passionate fans, and
billion-dollar revenues, the industry is only beginning to take flight.
The debate however, is not around the battle between eSports and
traditional sports. It is around the shift to celebrating a culture that
is completely virtual, over one that is physical—which has much bigger
implications.
Posted by AGORACOM-JC
at 7:08 AM on Thursday, September 5th, 2019
Engaged Partis Solutions Limited as the Company’s iGaming Mergers and Acquisitions Advisor
Esports Entertainment Group has an interest in acquiring one or more successful iGaming operators to help accelerate its growth by expanding its reach in the regulated iGaming markets
In addition, the Company has an interest in acquiring established leading B2C iGaming brands that can help accelerate growth, as well as, expand the Company’s global reach.
BIRKIRKARA, Malta, Sept. 05, 2019 — Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (OTCQB: GMBL) (or the “Company”), a licensed online gambling company with a focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming, is pleased to announce the Company has engaged Partis Solutions Limited (“Partis Solutionsâ€) as the Company’s iGaming Mergers and Acquisitions Advisor. Partis Solutions, part of the Conexus Group, is a global leader in the provision of corporate services to the interactive gaming & gambling industry.
Esports Entertainment Group has an interest in acquiring one or more
successful iGaming operators to help accelerate its growth by expanding
its reach in the regulated iGaming markets.
In addition, the Company has an interest in acquiring established
leading B2C iGaming brands that can help accelerate growth, as well as,
expand the Company’s global reach.
Robert Dowling, Managing Director of Partis Solutions stated,
“Esports Entertainment Group is well positioned to take advantage of
opportunities in the huge but highly fragmented iGaming market and we
look forward to supporting them in their growth efforts.â€
Grant Johnson, Chief Executive Officer stated, “Rob and his team at
Partis Solutions have years of iGaming M&A experience and extensive
industry contacts. We are excited to have the opportunity to work
together.â€
This press release is available on our Online Investor Relations
Community for shareholders and potential shareholders to ask questions,
receive answers and collaborate with management in a fully moderated
forum at https://agoracom.com/ir/EsportsEntertainmentGroup
RedChip investor relations Esports Entertainment Group Investor Page: http://www.gmblinfo.com
ABOUT PARTIS SOLUTIONS
Partis Solutions is a global leader in the provision of corporate
services to the Interactive Gaming & Gambling industry. We deliver
strategic consulting, outsourcing and brokerage solutions to a diverse
portfolio of international clients from across the sector. As part of
the Conexus Group, Partis Solutions is uniquely positioned to leverage
over a decade of collective market intelligence and industry
understanding to provide tailored solutions that support the growth
aspirations and strategic choices of our customers. Partis Solutions
operates a business brokerage that utilizes over a decade of global
intellectual property to provide transactional services for mutually
interested parties within the Interactive Gaming & Gambling
Industry. We are able to harness our industry knowledge and a network of
carefully selected introducers to match parties interested in
purchasing or disposing of companies or assets. The Conexus Group
consists of a diverse group of companies including Partis Solutions and
its sister companies, Pentasia, the iGaming Academy and Marden Executive
Search. For more information visit www.partissolutions.com/
ABOUT ESPORTS ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. is a licensed online gambling
company with a focus on esports wagering and 18+ gaming. Esports
Entertainment offers bet exchange style wagering on esports events in a
licensed, regulated and secure platform to the global esports audience
at vie.gg. In addition, Esports Entertainment intends to offer users
from around the world the ability to participate in multi-player mobile
and PC video game tournaments for cash prizes. Esports Entertainment is
led by a team of industry professionals and technical experts from the
online gambling and the video game industries, and esports. The Company
holds a license to conduct online gambling and 18+ gaming on a global
basis in Curacao, Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Company maintains
offices in Malta and Warsaw, Poland. Esports Entertainment common stock
is listed on the OTCQB under the symbol GMBL. For more information
visit www.esportsentertainmentgroup.com
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