Esports = EDM? - Pollstar News

There was a time when graying promoters scratched their heads when crowds showed up to hear oontz-oontz music. Then they wondered why the young folk came to listen to videogame music played by an orchestra, or watched a 3D Japanese cartoon sing songs. Now they’re learning there is another way to fill up those cavernous arenas and it has to do with a keyboard and a mouse.

With the May 29 premiere of Eleague on TBS, “esports,” or organized video game competitions, is showing the signs of a new, lucrative revenue stream.

According to Newzoo, a leading videogame intelligence company, about 115 million people saw esports live or online last year.

SAP Center in San Jose hosted the Intel Extreme Masters tournament in 2014 and 2015, making it one of the first venues in the U.S. to delve into international esports events. Steve Kirsner, VP of booking and events at the SAP Center, said the events require little production and venues should be well-equipped for the demands the competitions place on the hosts. “Every event has its unique challenges, but this is no different than any other event that we do.The setup times are a little longer and it is I.T. heavy,” he said.

Kirsner said the event had around 8,000 attendees with two-day passes selling for $49, and hundreds of thousands more tuning in online.

“The big thing about esports and video-gaming is (that) the profitability for the promoter is not necessarily in the [event gross], it’s in how they can convert people who are online to use their gaming service and sign up for their live streams.” The new Eleague is a joint venture of Turner and WME IMG, who have brought their bankrolls, airwaves and experience to see what can be made of televised videogames.

The concept is simple: teams compete in “Counterstrike: Global Offensive” in a tournament structure, while fans watch. Tobias Sherman, global head of esports for WME IMG, operates out of Florida, where the company recently debuted an esports training program at its IMG Academy. He told Pollstar there are a number of other projects in the pipeline.

“It was pretty incredible to see Eleague come to fruition and to see the reaction from the positive esports community who are constantly looking for ways to expand the reach of the industry,” Sherman said. “There has been an education process about esports for traditional advertisers, but I think Eleague is opening some eyes in corporate America.” Over 500,000 tuned in for the premiere, with many more streaming the events throughout the week on Twitch.

Sherman said WME IMG approached Turner for the project and is excited by the results, and that there is room to expand all over the world.

“The great thing is that we have a blank slate to create opportunities.” Other large broadcasting companies have also been timidly entering the arena.

The BBC experimented with broadcasting the League of Legends final in 2015 and ESPN has already started making moves to cover the industry in depth, with a subsection of its website devoted to gaming competitions. Developers of some games that bring massive audiences are trying to take the reins over how competitions are watched. Activision Blizzard acquired esports pioneers Major League Gaming as a part of its newly formed Media Networks Division.

The World Of Warcraft and Starcraft developer also hired some former sports industry execs with the goal of creating the “ESPN” of esports.

The company announced its recent event at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, garnered more than 45 million hours of live broadcast viewing. That event also drew more than 10,000 to watch the company’s CS:GO championship.

Esports is very much a global market, as Newzoo estimates 45 percent of the $99.6 billion global games market revenue in 2016 will be generated in Asia.

In South Korea companies like Samsung and SK Telecom, the nation’s biggest wireless carrier, have sponsored professional esports teams for years, not only erecting structures of coaching, practice facilities and living arrangements, but have also established a ubiquitous culture of esports viewership. In 2014 the League of Legends World Championship sold out Seoul’s World Cup Stadium, filling 40,000 seats.

That event also included a live performance from Imagine Dragons. Despite the attention international esports garners, Kirsner feels there is room to expand the events in the U.S., even outside of tech hubs like Silicon Valley.

“It’s about the kids that really get into this type of gaming … knowing the age of the audience, knowing how to reach that audience and keeping the prices reasonable for that audience is important.”