iSportconnect’s Esports Masterclass Wrap-Up

iSportconnect’s Esports masterclass today provided a fantastic platform for industry leaders who specialise in Esports to share their knowledge and enjoy a wonderful day of learning and networking at Withersworldwide in London.

The Esports Masterclass took a deeper look at several subjects in order to provide our delegates with a much greater understanding of this new world of sports business.

We opened the Esports Masterclass with a panel discussing the difficulty of providing sporting venues for Esports events, with panellists Charlie Allen from ESL, Nikita Buffee of Allied Esports and Gfinity’s Mike Dickman.

iSportconnect’s Jay Stuart then conducted a feature interview with Graham Wallace, CEO of Gfinity, discussing how the major Esports company is evolving.

A brief networking break took place ahead of our second panel on ‘Building Esports Partnerships’. We heard from Leo Matlock of Blast Premier, Renault Sport Racing’s Guillaume Vergnas and Withersworldwide’s Iain Cockburn, with the panel moderated by Ian Smith.

After lunch we kicked off the third session with professional NASCAR driver Parker Kligerman, founder of Burton Kligerman Esports, who was interviewed by Goodform’s Joe Kyle to explain his venture into the Esports sector.

Our third panel then surrounded entertainment and innovation, with Craig Edmondson of Zwift, McLaren Racing’s Leeston Bryant and Matthew Ivey from Tata Communications providing their views, moderated by Marcus Meyer.

More networking then took place ahead of the final panel of the 2020 Esports Masterclass, covering brands and the Esports audience.

On this panel was Formula 1’s Julian Tan, Alban Dechelotte of Riot Games and Adam Savinson from Betway Esports, moderated by Remer Rietkerk.

To close today’s proceedings we had an extremely interesting interview with General Counsel of Fnatic, Andrew Cooke, which was carried out by Dominic Quantrill of The Quantrill Partnership.

All in all it was a brilliant day. Many thanks to all at Withersworldwide for hosting us and to our excellent speakers for their time. We can’t wait to see you all again soon!

 

Member Insights: Running The Biggest Esports Stadium In North America, Jay Stuart Speaks To Matt Wilson

iSportconnect’s Jay Stuart recently spoke to Matt Wilson, Vice President of the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Matt is one of the key figures managing Esports Stadium Arlington, a 100,000 sq foot dedicated Esports facility which is the biggest in North America and talked to Jay Stuart about how the stadium was created,

So Matt, how did the creation of the stadium come about?

Timing is everything. Basically the University of Texas has an Esports team and they won a national championship, and none of us really understood what that meant but it started the conversation. The city started asking me questions about what we’re doing in Esports, so we started investigating what Esports was and what it could mean for Arlington. Simultaneously we were working on a hotel project with the Tisch family. Through their school of business they did a white paper for us, what Esports is and what the future might be.

At the same time, Neil Leibman, co-owner of the Texas Rangers, had bought as Esports team and was looking for a home for the team. We had a site visit, he came to our convention center, and the next thing we know our facility switches to this Esports stadium. We completely renovated it. Not everybody has a facility that can transition that way, but for us it made a lot of sense, we felt like the investment in the future of this sport was worth making that commitment.

So who utilises the facility, how does that work? Who are the entities you deal with and what is the relationship like?

The stadium has got an arena component, an exhibition component, all the production facilities you’d ever need. So the beauty of it is if you’re running an Esports event you can come into our facility, literally have a 30 minute setup, not having to worry about bringing in your own tech companies, we have everything you need for us to broadcast, everything is set and ready for you to go.

We’ve hosted everything from Counter-Strike, ECS, Rocket League, collegiate championships, we’ve had the Esports awards, basically the Oscars of Esports. It’s a global audience. For us that’s the most important thing, we couldn’t go out and buy the kind of advertising and the connections to the Esports world like what we had with the awards because it is a global audience, expected between 7-9 million viewers and we know where those people are from, it helps us target our efforts after that. So it helps us understand what our market is.

You’ve had experience in the traditional sports world, is there a difference in the audience at Esports events and what they might consume or purchase at an event?

It’s a little different. It’s an emerging market. I think people are just now understanding the travel aspect of it because for a long time Esports was very underground. It was not something where people openly said ‘Hey, I’m a big Esports enthusiast’. What we’ve found is there’s no demographics to Esports but it’s an emerging travel market. For Esports we’re still trying to figure out how we get people out of their living room into the stadium. So it’s a challenge but something we’re really excited about because we can be leaders in how to convert that person from ‘I’m watching this at my house’ to ‘I want to be there for a live event.

A huge learning piece for me was the first event that we held, ECS, the Counter-Strike World Championships, people show up and they bring posters and have the chants and they do all the things that we’re used to in soccer, football and traditional sports. So as that continues to grow and as the market matures that travel aspect will only grow and that’s one of the reasons we’ve invested in what we’ve invested in.

French Rugby Federation Appoints IMG As Global Licensing Representative

The French Rugby Federation (Fédération Française de Rugby), the governing body for rugby union in France, has appointed IMG to be its exclusive global licensing representative in a multi-year deal extending through 2024.

The partnership will see IMG devise a licensing programme using the recently rebranded France Rugby logo and identity. IMG will aim to maximise global opportunities for supporters to engage with the French rugby teams, grow the existing business and extend into new categories through fan merchandise, sporting accessories and iconic rugby related products for men, women and children.

Bernard Laporte, President, FFR, commented: “We are pleased to be working with IMG to develop an ambitious licensing programme for FFR during the next four years. For decades now, our research has shown that French citizens believe rugby embodies strong values of solidarity, conviviality and respect. With France hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2023, there is a strong opportunity for us to extend our product offering for rugby fans both domestically and internationally.”

Mickael Andreo, Vice President of Licensing, IMG, added: “The Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan, the first ever held in Asia, was an outstanding success. The sport is currently in a great place, and with France now preparing to host the competition in 2023, we feel very privileged to work with the FFR – one of the most prestigious and respected National teams in the world. We believe there is a lot to build and are looking forward to taking this opportunity to the market.”

Rugby is one of the most popular sports in France, with 23 million people aged 15 and older following the sport. During the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, 19 million French fans followed their national team’s progress and, on average, France national team games attract more than five million TV viewers.

The deal strengthens IMG’s position in the rugby sector, with the agency having recently delivered a record-breaking licensing programme for Rugby World Cup 2019 and continuing its licensing efforts for the 2023 tournament in France.

Premiership Rugby Appoints New Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Commercial Officer

Premiership Rugby has announced two new appointments to its executive leadership team to support its mission to be the best and most competitive league in the world. Zoë Clapp has been appointed to the post of Chief Marketing Officer, while Mark Brittain takes up the role of Chief Commercial Officer. Both will join Premiership Rugby on 24 February 2020, reporting to Darren Childs, Chief Executive, to help lead the growth of the organisation following investment by CVC Capital Partners.

Zoë Clapp, who joins from her prior position as Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at BBC Studios company UKTV, will be responsible for marketing and brand, events, communications, social and digital products. As CMO of Premiership Rugby, her goal will be to grow the popularity, reach and social impact of the sport, working closely with the league’s clubs and players. Her first tasks will include leading a full brand and creative review, investing in new insight systems and capability, and growing a world-class in-house marketing and online team.

Mark Brittain joins Premiership Rugby from Sports Rights Management, where he has held the position of Chief Executive since 2018. Throughout his career, Mark has been responsible for commercial strategy and revenue for some of the biggest formats and most iconic names in sports, entertainment and talent, including Andy Murray, X Factor and American Idol during previous senior roles at Syco and XIX Entertainment. In his new position, he will lead Premiership Rugby’s commercial strategy as the business seeks to grow the value of its rights and explore new markets and partnerships. Mark will be the lead on global commercial rights discussions relating to media and content, sponsorship and brand partnerships, merchandising and licensing and any other commercial opportunities.

Darren Childs, Premiership Rugby’s CEO, said: “I am pleased to announce the addition of two exceptionally talented and experienced executives to our senior team. As we set out on ambitious plans to grow the sport of club rugby, Zoë and Mark will play key roles in building our brand, reaching new audiences, and delivering commercial growth.”

Zoë Clapp said: “Sport has the power to entertain fans, transform lives and create moments that shape culture. Whether working with the league’s world-class players to reach new audiences or driving rugby’s vital inclusivity agenda, there are fantastic opportunities for Premiership Rugby to become yet more popular and successful in the years ahead.”

Mark Brittain said: “Premiership Rugby is already one of the most exciting and competitive leagues and the sport is well placed for an ambitious transformation in the years ahead. I’m looking forward to working with our valued existing partners as well as exploring new opportunities to unlock value from our content and commercial rights.”

Leading CS:GO Teams And ESL Seal Historic Agreement

A groundbreaking new agreement between leading CS:GO teams, ESL and DreamHack will govern the setup of Pro League and share of revenues and profits from ESL’s Pro Tour competitions. The teams, representing the top level of professional CS:GO, will also become majority stakeholders in the league with a long-term slot for participation. By partnering with the leading CS:GO teams, the new agreement further establishes the ESL Pro Tour as one of the most valuable properties in the global business of esports.

The new agreement – informally dubbed ‘The Louvre Agreement’ – was signed by Astralis, Complexity, Evil Geniuses, ENCE, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, G2 Esports, Mousesports, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Liquid, Team Vitality, 100 Thieves and ESL following a meeting in Paris in January 2020. Between them, the signatories of the agreement have won 28 ESL and DreamHack Masters-level competitions and two Intel® Grand Slams in the last four years and represent all of the top 10 ranked teams in the world.

The agreement establishes a deep partnership between ESL, DreamHack and the partner teams, and introduces:

  • ESL Pro League being transformed into a new league with a single global division starting in its 11th season
  • Teams are majority stakeholders in the league and have a key role in its strategic decision-making process
  • Revenue share for teams and players from ESL’s Pro Tour competitions, including ESL One Cologne powered by Intel® and Intel® Extreme Masters Katowice.

‘An industry-defining agreement’

“Over the past year and a half, we have been working to establish a framework to create a sustainable future for the CS:GO ecosystem. The new entity will utilize our combined strengths to pave the best path forward for everyone, from teams and TO’s to fans and players,” said Victor Goossens, Founder and Co-CEO, Team Liquid. “We consider this a monumental agreement and an important step forward for all of esports.”

Anders Horsholt, co-CEO of Astralis Group said: “It has been a long-time ambition for us to be a part of and contribute to a more structured CS:GO scene, giving players, teams and tournament organizers a stronger foundation. This industry-defining agreement is hugely significant in the history of our game, and we’re proud to be part of it.”

“This agreement is a huge step forward for us on the path to sustainability in Counter-Strike. This league will provide the highest level of competitive play with the best teams in the world, which is always where Fnatic should be. ESL supported professional Counter-Strike since the very beginning and we’re excited to continue pushing CS:GO into the future together.” – Patrik “cArn” Sattermon, Chief Gaming Officer of Fnatic.

“‘The Louvre Agreement,’ as we have grown fond of calling it, is a clear vote of confidence by the best teams in the world and their players to create the most valuable products. It will build a platform to create stability and growth, without sacrificing the ability for new teams and players to climb to the top,” said Sebastian Weishaar, Chief Product Officer, ESL.

The agreement elevates signatory teams to key stakeholders in the CS:GO ecosystem and introduces revenue shares for all ESL Pro Tour competitions for the first time. It will further professionalize CS:GO esports by improving team representation, introducing standardized regulations, and revenue sharing for teams and their players.

A new and transformed league built around partner teams

The agreement will transform ESL Pro League, the world’s longest-running professional league for CS:GO, into a 24-team competition with a single global division, moving away from the previous regionalized model.

The founding teams will retain a long-term slot in the league similar to other sports, with remaining teams qualifying on the basis of their world ranking or directly through the Mountain Dew League, the ESL Pro League’s gateway competition.

Partner teams to earn share of ESL Pro Tour revenues and profits

The ESL Pro Tour comprises ESL and DreamHack CS:GO competitions, including ESL Pro League, DreamHack Masters, ESL One and the IEM. In 2019, these competitions were watched by fans for an estimated 127 million hours and boasted a combined prize pool of more than $4.5 million on top of the $1,000,000 Intel® Grand Slam.

The agreement will mean partner teams earn a share of revenues from all competitions in the ESL Pro Tour – including marque tournaments such as IEM Katowice and ESL One Cologne. It will bring structure to the current CS:GO esports ecosystem, establishing the basis on which teams compete in ESL’s competitions.

The agreement also covers member invitations to ESL Pro Tour tournaments, competition standards, player influence, team obligations at tournaments and sets up core guidelines for future joint business endeavors.

More information on the agreement can be found at the official ESL Pro Tour website.

Meet The Member: Running The Biggest Esports Stadium In North America, Jay Stuart Speaks To Matt Wilson

iSportconnect’s Jay Stuart recently spoke to Matt Wilson, Vice President of the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Matt is one of the key figures managing Esports Stadium Arlington, a 100,000 sq foot dedicated Esports facility which is the biggest in North America and talked to Jay Stuart about how the stadium was created,

So Matt, how did the creation of the stadium come about?

Timing is everything. Basically the University of Texas has an Esports team and they won a national championship, and none of us really understood what that meant but it started the conversation. The city started asking me questions about what we’re doing in Esports, so we started investigating what Esports was and what it could mean for Arlington. Simultaneously we were working on a hotel project with the Tisch family. Through their school of business they did a white paper for us, what Esports is and what the future might be.

At the same time, Neil Leibman, co-owner of the Texas Rangers, had bought as Esports team and was looking for a home for the team. We had a site visit, he came to our convention center, and the next thing we know our facility switches to this Esports stadium. We completely renovated it. Not everybody has a facility that can transition that way, but for us it made a lot of sense, we felt like the investment in the future of this sport was worth making that commitment.

So who utilises the facility, how does that work? Who are the entities you deal with and what is the relationship like?

The stadium has got an arena component, an exhibition component, all the production facilities you’d ever need. So the beauty of it is if you’re running an Esports event you can come into our facility, literally have a 30 minute setup, not having to worry about bringing in your own tech companies, we have everything you need for us to broadcast, everything is set and ready for you to go.

We’ve hosted everything from Counter-Strike, ECS, Rocket League, collegiate championships, we’ve had the Esports awards, basically the Oscars of Esports. It’s a global audience. For us that’s the most important thing, we couldn’t go out and buy the kind of advertising and the connections to the Esports world like what we had with the awards because it is a global audience, expected between 7-9 million viewers and we know where those people are from, it helps us target our efforts after that. So it helps us understand what our market is.

You’ve had experience in the traditional sports world, is there a difference in the audience at Esports events and what they might consume or purchase at an event?

It’s a little different. It’s an emerging market. I think people are just now understanding the travel aspect of it because for a long time Esports was very underground. It was not something where people openly said ‘Hey, I’m a big Esports enthusiast’. What we’ve found is there’s no demographics to Esports but it’s an emerging travel market. For Esports we’re still trying to figure out how we get people out of their living room into the stadium. So it’s a challenge but something we’re really excited about because we can be leaders in how to convert that person from ‘I’m watching this at my house’ to ‘I want to be there for a live event.

A huge learning piece for me was the first event that we held, ECS, the Counter-Strike World Championships, people show up and they bring posters and have the chants and they do all the things that we’re used to in soccer, football and traditional sports. So as that continues to grow and as the market matures that travel aspect will only grow and that’s one of the reasons we’ve invested in what we’ve invested in.

Announcement: 2020 Broadcast Masterclass – ELEVEN SPORTS And DAZN Confirmed To Take Part

iSportconnect are delighted to reveal the first two speakers to be confirmed for our 2020 Broadcast Masterclass, taking place on the 19th of March in London.

We are happy to confirm that Luis Vicente, Chief Executive Officer at ELEVEN SPORTS, and Paul Stimpson, EVP of Rights at DAZN, will be sharing their expert opinions on the world of Broadcasting, OTT and much more.

More speakers will be announced very soon…

Luis Vicente

Luis Vicente is Group CEO of ELEVEN SPORTS and Board Member of the sports, media and entertainment investment platform Aser Ventures.

He is a vastly experienced sports executive, with a 25-year track record of driving innovation, commercial growth and brand engagement.

Luis has worked with some of the world’s leading brands in football and motorsports, including FIFA, Manchester City, Valencia CF, Real Madrid, AC Milan, the Premier League, La Liga, Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus and A1GP. He began his career in talent management, representing Luis Figo and Ronaldo Nazario among other world class athletes.

Paul Stimpson

Paul Stimpson was announced as the EVP of Rights at DAZN in November following a near two-decade-long career working with international basketball federation FIBA, where he had most recently held the position of Manager Director of FIBA Media.

With a maximum of 150 invite-only delegates, iSportconnect provides a media/agency free opportunity to network with influential senior-level sports business executives. We are famous for our intimate and relaxed environment, encouraging the exchange of ideas and helping to introduce you to the right new connections.

To register your interest in attending the 2020 iSportconnect Broadcast Masterclass, please contact Theresa Muller at theresa@isportconnect.com

Invitation Policy: The Broadcast Masterclass is a complimentary event for iSportconnect members who are from governing bodies, sports teams, brands and broadcasters. There is no fee to become an iSportconnect member. No sports agencies, professional service providers & suppliers are allowed at our Masterclasses.

For limited partnership opportunities, please contact brandon@isportconnect.com

England Rugby Partners With Red Bull

England Rugby has announced a new multi-year partnership with Red Bull to become the official energy drink partner.

The agreement includes a mutual emphasis on developing grassroots sevens talent through the sevens series.

The partnership will see the men’s and women’s sevens teams supported during the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, with both the senior men’s team and Red Roses also utilising Red Bull products and equipment at forthcoming tournaments including the Guinness Six Nations and Quilter Internationals. Red Bull Energy Drink will be provided to all senior teams for use during training and matchday.

The relationship will also see Red Bull activating at the London leg of the HSBC World Ruby Sevens Series, supporting the regional England Rugby Sevens Series event and the co-creation of the Red Bull Rugby Combine.

This exclusive new event will focus on identifying new talent for the England Rugby Sevens programme, drawing athletes from a wider sporting pool. Red Bull will be following this journey with a behind the scenes content series.

Simon Massie-Taylor, RFU Chief Commercial Officer, commented: “We’re excited to partner with Red Bull as the Official Energy Drink supplier to England Rugby and our Sevens teams. 2020 is set to be a huge year for sevens rugby with a raft of tournaments around the world including Japan this summer.

Red Bull’s products have been a regular feature in the world of rugby, so we look forward to having the brand officially  on board as a partner and continue our journey as we grow and showcase this enjoyable and high octane sport.”

Dazn Secures Rights To Broadcast Wilder-Fury Rematch In Five Territories

DAZN, the largest, fastest growing global sport streaming service, announced today that it has acquired the rights to stream the eagerly anticipated rematch between WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (42-0-1) and challenger Tyson Fury (29-0-1), in five of its markets.

The fight, taking place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on 22 February, will be streamed live exclusively on DAZN in Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy, and non-exclusively in Switzerland.

Jacopo Tonoli, Chief Commercial Officer of DAZN Group, said: “We are thrilled to bring this heavyweight clash to five of our markets. Both Wilder and Fury are exceptionally entertaining fighters and will put on a show to remember for our subscribers in Las Vegas on 22 February. DAZN is proud to bring boxing fans the best fights across all weight divisions as part of our flexible and accessible offering.”

The last encounter between the two heavyweights saw an epic duel lasting 12 rounds, with Wilder retaining his title following a draw decision. Fury was judged by many to have edged out Wilder technically, whilst Wilder used his explosive power to knock Fury down twice. In the anticipated rematch dubbed “Unfinished Business”, the question of who the real heavyweight champion is will finally be settled.

The fight adds to DAZN’s extensive boxing portfolio. In the past 12 months, DAZN has streamed some of the world’s biggest fights, including Anthony Joshua’s shock defeat and subsequent victory over Andy Ruiz Jr, Canelo Alvarez’s light-heavyweight victory of Sergey Kovalev, and Gennady Golovkin’s title winning bout against Sergiy Derevyanchenko. DAZN’s self-titled ‘Fight Season’ also featured clashes between YouTube superstars KSI-Logan Paul II and Jake Paul-AnEsonGib.