As competition for people’s attention intensifies and each new generation’s media consumption habits change, digital media has become the new norm with traditional broadcasters suffering from ‘cable cutting’ (i.e. losing viewers) and even struggling to gain adoption (non-cable adopters) amongst the so-called Millennial generation. Sport, however, driven by people’s appetite to watch live rather than on-demand, has been identified as the main type of content to help traditional broadcasters attract and retain audiences. The biggest draw of these, football, now seems to be suggesting that esports could be a threat to engaging a new generation of football fans however, with English Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore, stating that digital gaming and social media are among the biggest threats to keeping youngsters engaged in football. This begs the question, is esports a threat, or an opportunity, for traditional sports?

To address this question Malph Minns (MD, Strive Sponsorship), Vas Roberts (VP Sales, FACEIT – the world’s largest online gaming platform and co-owner of the esports Championship Series with Twitch and top teams) and Jonny Madill (Sports & esports Lawyer at Sheridans, who have Europe’s largest gaming practice) were asked by Digital Sport Leaders, to discuss a wide range of topics that ranged from the investment in esports players/teams from traditional sports teams to the governance of esports leagues.

To listen to the podcast, recorded on Pete Townsend’s (The Who) studio boat in London, please click on the player below.

If you would benefit from the advice of an esports agency, Strive Sponsorship can help. Contact us for esports sponsorship, commercial, content, operations, investment and communications consultancy services.

 

Digital Sport