Why eSports is the Biggest Opportunity for Sports Since TV

The rapidly converging worlds of traditional sports and eSports moved a little closer last week; as top Spanish basketball organization, Saski Baskonia, and Atlantis Esports joined forces to form Baskonia-Atlantis. As a pre-eminent powerhouse in the Liga ACB, El Baskonia is a Spanish professional basketball club who is no stranger to success. Baskonia advanced to the Euroleague Final Four in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The club boasts a proud history, featuring some of the most competitive teams in the world and is perennial candidate for Euroleague. In other words, they got game. This announcement, however, is less about basketball and more about the biggest growth opportunity for sports since TV: eSports.

The sports media conundrum

The advent of television has impacted the traditional sports industry as much or more than any other technical innovation. Modern TV took professional sports from regional-based networks of clubs/leagues to the global behemoth it is today. As a matter of fact, the lucrative business of sport would not exist without TV.

The sale of broadcasting and media rights is now the biggest source of revenue for most sports organizations, generating the funds needed to finance major sporting events, refurbish sports stadia, and contribute to the development of sport at grassroots level. (World Intellectual Property Organization)

The above is largely unknown by most, who consider revenue from tickets, jerseys (apparel), licensing, etc. as responsible for the skyrocketing values of sport properties. However, as media consumption patterns move away from the TV screen, and toward internet connected devices, modern sport organizations must evolve a business model tied, at the neck, to a rapidly aging platform.

To complicate matters, millennials are cutting off live televised content at a disproportionate rate. This leaves the traditional sports industry in a compromising position. TV remains their golden goose, but the ever valuable 18 – 35yr old demographic is drifting further and further away from it. The question sports media must answer is, what are those “eyeballs” fixed upon?

eSports as a platform

Enter eSports, with its massive global appeal among younger audiences, exponential growth rates and lack of brand saturation. Currently, most narrative has focused on how eSports stacks up against the traditional sports world. Or in terms of replicating what works in traditional sports, within the virtual domain of eSports. It has become the classic “Old versus New” dialogue which, unfortunately, obfuscates the biggest growth opportunity found in the merging of these two worlds. The move by Baskonia hints at how eSports can be leveraged as a lucrative platform within the traditional sports world. Here’s why forward thinking sports organizations must learn to embrace eSports counterparts, instead of write them off or consider them competitors:

• Young sports fans are gamers: The gaming generation is here. Embrace it or die. Whether traditional sport realizes it, the next wave of fans (consumers) is immersed in the culture of gaming. Not all are eSports fanatics but the overlap, between playing games yourself and viewing others play, is huge.
• Learn by contributing: Traditional sport brands who take the plunge into eSports, will gain invaluable access to insights on the very millennials they claim to clamor for. Insight that beats all the complex consumer polls, surveys by “experts”, and reports from the best consultancies money can buy. eSports lays bare to what works, and doesn’t, in today’s new media frontier. Today that cost is simply getting involved, as the eSports industry grows, the cost will grow with it.
• Ready-made global reach: The Baskonia-Atlantis partnership demonstrates how a successful team with a strong national brand can catapult its exposure across an entire global community. Thanks to the flatter, less developed eSports domain, Baskonia can accelerate the process of reaching across the entire globe. Quick quiz: Name another platform that can offer the same without significant barriers of entry.

Early movers, win

There is an old adage that says, being first is like showing up to a 10pm party at 3pm. In most things, it rarely pays off to be first. It’s much easier (and less risky) to justify an investment early on, than to be the very first. Accordingly, now is the time to capitalize on the ascendant eSports opportunity. The time isn’t when a shift has become a trend, because by then you’re stuck in the middle of the bell curve. The traditional sports industry would do well to invest in the eSports world as an opportunity to grow their interests. Much like buying stock in a company, once everyone is calling it hot, you’re too late.

---

            

Alex Fletcher finds and recruits top talent in the eSports world – by working with and nurturing the next generation of rising stars. Visit Entiva Group for more info. When he isn’t glued to a screen, he spends time with his wife, their two dogs, and pretends to learn Polish.

How eSports Can Change the Face of Las Vegas (and Sports Gambling)

News that legislation could bring an eSports flavor to the Las Vegas experience, broke earlier today and immediately struck a chord. The inclusion of slot machines with a competitive flavor, instead of older ‘luck of the draw’ versions will do more than just attract younger gamblers. The notion that a staple of Vegas gambling, slot machines, will introduce more skilled-based elements is notable, in and of itself. However, here’s my prediction: this “new era of gaming entertainment,” as hailed the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, will feature Las Vegas, Nevada as the North American hub for large, moneyed invitational style eSports events a la the World Series of Poker.

Why Vegas? Well, we’ve seen Riot move the NA Summer Split Championship to Madison Square Garden (MSG) in New York City. A shift which will could transform into a trend of permanent, big city locations for major eSports events across North America. I’ve attempted to tackle the subject of how important locality is to sport, here and here, so it makes sense that yearly events find stable homes sooner rather than later. And, as gaming entertainment becomes a part of the Vegas experience, the door will open to capitalize on the international appeal of one of North America’s top tourist locations.

Long known as the de-facto gamblers vacation destination in the USA, Las Vegas now finds itself facing the reality of multiple states legalizing certain forms of gambling in an attempt to heal budget woes. Casinos are appearing in cities from coast to coast. It’s no longer profitable to simply be the home of slot machines and black jack tables. Las Vegas has re-fashioned itself as a premier entertainment destination. Meaning the opportunity to emerge as an annual home to events consisting of largely millennial crowds and viewing audiences, would be quite significant.

Moreover, Startups like Unikrn, whose CEO has gone on record for the legalization of sports betting in the USA, are setting the tone for what could become a symbiotic relationship between eSports and gambling. Meaning as discourse on why sports betting isn’t legal in the USA becomes more prevalent, eSports betting could serve as a catalyst. It’s very possible that as global $$$ figures pick up around eSports betting, certain states (see: Nevada) will pass legislation to allow it. Perhaps opening the door for more traditional sports down the line. Either way, gambling (not ticket sales, or merchandise, or paid media content) has a great chance to emerge as the first widespread revenue driver across the worldwide eSports industry.

This momentum would play right into the spirit of America’s gambling capital, Las Vegas; and would make good business sense for tomorrow’s leaders in eSports gambling to push for moving large invitational tournaments to a city with the energy and newly demonstrated acceptance of gaming entertainment, like Las Vegas. The excitement surrounding the 2015 LCS Mid Season Invitational (MSI), held in Tallahassee, Florida, would be a blip on the radar in comparison to a Vegas hosted event.

eSports, with its fusion of technology, competitive action and electronic friendly composition, makes for an ideal 21st century entertainment outlet; matched against a backdrop of the “City of Lights,” there’s little reason that this combination won’t be a game changer. It also has the potential to open the floodgates for legalizing sports betting across the USA. Only time will tell the true story, but it will be fun watching the plot unfold.

---

            

Alex Fletcher finds and recruits top talent in the eSports world – by working with and nurturing the next generation of rising stars. Visit Entiva Group for more info. When he isn’t glued to a screen, he spends time with his wife, their two dogs, and pretends to learn Polish.

The Importance of an eSports Industry

If you haven’t had the chance, go check out Chris Fields‘ article on Athletics vs eSports. As a former college basketball player and current recruiter within the eSports arena, Chris’ perspective really aligned with my own. And even if, unlike Chris, I haven’t sniffed Diamond tier in League of Legends (LoL) *womp womp*. There was one particular segment of the article that really stood out:

“League is in its infant stages of popularity and reach. Instead of trying to keep it its own thing that is unique and NOT like traditional sports, we should embrace parts of the traditional sports teams and expand on that in the context of eSports. If League wants to be recognized as a sport and legitimate profession for the players, coaches, teams, organizations, and all other member of the community, we need to act as if we belong in the big 4 traditional sports and eventually take that over. We as a League community appeal to a much larger group of people worldwide.”

This is a well informed opinion, which makes several key points about the state and future of League, and can be applied to the overall eSports scene. One statement caught my eye,

“If League wants to be recognized as a sport and legitimate profession for the players, coaches, teams, organizations…”

For every corner of the eSports world there is a different opinion on what should be done to push the genre into more mainstream circles. However, recognition comes with actualization. In other words, League (and other eSports) must evolve into a legitimate profession for players, coaches, teams and organizations. Recognition will follow. See: “If you build it, he will come.”

eSports, in general, is still in its infancy. Yet there’s far too much focus on gaining recognition, as being on par with major sports, instead working to fill the sizable gaps throughout the community; particularly on building channels for legitimate professions. When I hear Alex ‘Xpecial’ Chu say in an interview,

“A big concern for players is the future after their competitive careers are over.”

This statement speaks to the fact that eSports, for all its support and popularity, is still quite immature as an industry. This must change before it can be considered on par with major sporting activities. Consider the economic activity generated by organizations like FIFA, or the NBA. They are global brands not only because of the sport itself, but due to their roles in providing a legitimate professional outlet. So even if sports like futbol and basketball exist independently of the industry surrounding them. And competitive gaming will thrive even if no one is getting paid. There is a vast difference between a popular past-time and a major sport.

Meaning, it is critical to establish a foundation of decent professions not just as players or even coaches, but within eSports as a whole. As this continues to happen and the overall eSports industry grows with it, then we will an inevitable increase in casual interest, mainstream awareness, and the like.

---

            

Alex Fletcher finds and recruits top talent in the eSports world – by working with and nurturing the next generation of rising stars. Visit Entiva Group for more info. When he isn’t glued to a screen, he spends time with his wife, their two dogs, and pretends to learn Polish.