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In a sign that eSports have really arrived, one of the power players of video gaming, Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI, initial buy $20.61) late last week announced that it was bringing aboard a big hitter, Steve Bornstein, to be chairman of its newly created eSports division.
Mr Bornstein is a TV veteran and the former CEO of Disney’s (NYSE: DIS, initial buy $48.60) ESPN and until last year CEO of the NFL Network. He will be joined by Mike Sepso, co-founder of the professional e-sports organisation Major League Gaming, who will act in the role of senior vice president of Activision’s eSports division.
Discussing the new hires, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick stated, “Steve has unparalleled experience in creating a sports network powerhouse and his ground breaking leadership at ESPN and the NFL Network shaped how the whole world experiences sports,” and “Mike’s entrepreneurial vision helped make eSports a household word and he is uniquely positioned to take the experience to the next level.”
That someone of Mr Bornstein’s calibre is moving into the eSports arena speaks volumes of how the fledgling activity has gained popularity in recent years. Not so many years ago it was considered a niche genre of video gaming for only the hard-core, but massive audiences now watch tournaments online. For those unfamiliar with the term, it refers to person against person or team against team competitive videogames.
Regarding the opportunity, Mr Bornstein said in a news release, “I believe e-sports will rival the biggest traditional sports leagues in terms of future opportunities, and between advertising, ticket sales, licensing, sponsorships and merchandising, there are tremendous growth areas for this nascent industry,” and added “I’m excited to help Activision Blizzard further its leadership position in this exciting growth area.”
Activision Blizzard is no stranger to eSports, but the setting up of a new focused division communicates it is becoming more serious about its efforts as it will be its third division, sitting alongside its current Activision Publishing and Blizzard Entertainment businesses.
Blizzard Entertainment’s StarCraft® game was one of the early pioneers in large-scale, televised eSports, particularly popular in Korea as long ago as the late 1990s.
This year’s BlizzCon® event will take place on November 6th and 7th in Anaheim, California and will feature the global finals for a raft of Blizzard games: StarCraft® II, World of Warcraft®, Heroes of the Storm™ and Hearthstone®. In qualifying, players have been competing for more than $4 million in prizes in the Road to BlizzCon tournaments.
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