Three tales to tell from the world of eSports including a partnership that sees ESPN move deep into the Asian market, signs of eSports life in India, and Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, wants to own a League of Legends side.
China, with over 1.3 billion people, is a must have seat at the technological banquet.
Disney owned ESPN knows this and that’s why they have entered into a partnership with the Chinese technological giant Tencent Holdings. The new deal means ESPN content will be broadcast across the vast array of digital platforms owned by Tencent.
But won’t there be a language problem?
Don’t worry, ESPN have this licked, and it’s good news for Chinese speaking sports fans who want a career with ESPN. The sporting giant are expected to create brand new Chinese-language content across the new sites.
The deal is significant for ESPN in many ways. Tencent’s market cap of $167 billion towers over Disney’s $154 billion evaluation. They are even bigger than the US-based technological giants HP & Cisco.
Tencent Holdings is also the owner of Riot Games, the developer of the lucrative League of Legends professional eSports game. They also have a stake in Activision Blizzard. ESPN recently launched a dedicated eSports channel. Although there has been no word of a partnership in this market, I am sure both sides have eyes on this prize.
The Chinese love American sports, particularly the NBA. In 2010 184 million Chinese viewers tuned in to watch China take on the USA in an Olympic basketball contest. In 2015, only 114 million tuned in to watch the Super Bowl.
Here Comes India
The Chinese may have cornered the market for the largest population on planet earth, but according to people who are smarter than me, it won’t stay that way for very long. According to statisticians, India will become the most populated country in the world when they peak at 1.6 billion in 2050.
It, therefore, should come as no surprise to hear that eSports is creeping into India with the launch of the Indian Gaming League (IGL).
“We want to revive the gaming culture in India,” says Siddhanth Valecha, IGL spokesperson. “We interacted with India’s gaming community before launching the league, and we received a tremendous response.”
Reports suggest that the Indian gaming market is valued at a billion dollars; mobile alone netting half of that bounty.
The IGL will feature both live and online tournaments. The live events will be based loosely around the incredibly popular cricket Indian Premier League (IPL). Franchises will be created and an Indian team will also feature in Major League Gaming (MLG).
The IGL will feature FIFA, call of Duty, League of Legeds, Dota 2, Halo and Counterstrike:Global Offensive. Red Bull, Sony and Paytm have already signed deals to come on board as the leageu’s major sponsors.
Mark Cuban Wants to Own a League of Legends Team
Dallas Maverick’s outspoken owner, Mark Cuban, has told TMZ that he wants to own a League of Legends team.
Cuban, who invested in eSports betting outfit Unikrn, during their Series A funding, also spoke out about the similiarities between running an eSports team and the Mavericks.
In November, Cuban triumphed in a League of Legends charity match against Intel CEO Brian Krzanich. If Cuban does buy a League of Legends team, he won’t be the first with NBA ties to do so. Former LA Lakers star Rick Fox recently paid a million bucks to acquire Team Gravity before quickly renaming them Team Echo Fox.
