HOW ACTIVISION BLIZZARD IS BANKING ON ITS NEW OVERWATCH LEAGUE TO HELP IT BECOME THE ESPN OF ESPORTS.
Advertisers will soon have another big opportunity to sponsor professional sports teams, but these teams will duke it out on the virtual battlefield. The Overwatch League will launch on Activision Blizzard’s streamed network MLG.tv in January as esports’ first foray into organizing professional gamers into teams based in cities, like the MLB and NFL.
Overwatch is part of a $1.5 billion esports industry, per research firm SuperData, and with its new Overwatch League, Activision is looking to increase its chunk of that pie in three ways, according to Laura Martin, managing director and media analyst at Needham & Co. “It’s selling team [Overwatch] franchise fees at $20 million each. Secondly, there will be a live event revenue stream, and third, it will improve engagement and enthusiasm.”
By professionalizing Overwatch, which is based on an existing game that has more than 35 million players worldwide, Activision is making it easier for traditional advertisers to spend on esports. “It’s been largely small scale [to date]. Now the shows are more spectacular. The production values are going up. The audience is increasing,” explained Joost van Dreunen, CEO of SuperData.
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News Anchor Of The Year Megyn Kelly
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The Big Bang
Global consultancies are rocking the agency world, creating a new universe of offerings that meld marketing and technology.
DROGA5
Using the fingers on just one hand, David Droga argues, you can count the number of agencies that possess a “strong soul.”
Ogily
When it comes to leadership changes, 2016 will be remembered as a time of disruption.
The Myth of White Space
'Brands have to stand out in an obvious crowd—not stand alone in an unusual spot that no one cares about.'
Brand Phelps
Can the greatest olympian in history be as dominant out of the pool as he was in it?
Masters Of Their Domain
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Winners' Playbook
BRANDS OFTEN FIND THAT WHEN THEY AIM TO DO GOOD, THEY ALSO END UP DOING WELL. HERE ARE FOUR RULES TO KEEP IN MIND. BY DAN TYNAN
Flipping The Disruption Script
THE FORTUNE 500 SHOULDN’T REST ON THEIR LAURELS OF HAVING A FIRST-TO- MARKET ADVANTAGE.
MCCann
All things old were new again in 2017 as McCann dominated the U.S. agency landscape with a string of wins and created the most-discussed campaign of the year in Fearless Girl.
