Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Gothmog

(144,005 posts)
2. What do owners of the Patriots, Rams, Grizzlies and Flyers have in common? A big bet on eSports.
Mon Jul 30, 2018, 06:38 PM
Jul 2018

Esports is big business https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/what-do-owners-of-patriots-rams-grizzlies-and-flyers-have-in-common-a-big-bet-on-esports/2018/01/17/63e5a916-fac7-11e7-8f66-2df0b94bb98a_story.html?utm_term=.f6b9175337d1

The audience for eSports has surged in recent years and major investors have followed, including owners of traditional sports franchises seeking to reach a young audience traditional sports increasingly miss. Annual revenue has grown more than 40 percent over the past two years and is quickly approaching $1 billion, according to market research firm Newzoo. The International, the major tournament for the game Dota 2, featured a total prize pool of $24 million, with the tournament winners landing $10.8 million. Newzoo projects the total audience for eSports will approach 590 million worldwide by the year 2020.

So when a new league was being formed around Overwatch, a first-person shooter game, many investors couldn't wait to pay $20 million apiece to buy a franchise. Those included New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Stan Kroenke (Los Angeles Rams), Jeff Wilpon (New York Mets), Andy Miller (Sacramento Kings) and Comcast Spectacor (Philadelphia Flyers).

"It was one of the few times that we committed at the first meeting," said Kraft, who, along with his son Jonathan, owns the OWL's Boston Uprising. The Krafts, like other pro team owners, had been waiting to find a way into the eSports phenomenon. Not having found the right play, they decided to help build a new league. It was the same path they had taken with Major League Soccer as owners of the New England Revolution.

Sports teams, such as the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association, the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball and European soccer club Paris Saint-Germain have all sunk money into League of Legends eSports franchises and other popular gaming titles. Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Wizards in the NBA and Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League, also owns Team Liquid, one of the most prominent franchises in the e­Sports world.

Major League Soccer announced last week that it will launch an eSports league centered on the popular FIFA soccer video game, a similar undertaking to the NBA's upcoming league based on the NBA 2K franchise.
Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Gaming»How Blizzard convinced sp...»Reply #2