The 76ers and VC firm NextEquity have "purchased a majority stake" in e-sports franchises Team Dignitas and Team Apex, making the NBA club the "first U.S. sports organization to control a professional gaming outfit," according to a cover story by Fischer & Lombardo of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The two e-sports franchises "will be combined under the Team Dignitas name and will be run separately from the basketball team." 76ers execs believe the e-sports investment "will give them an entry for sponsors into a younger, male-dominated demographic." 76ers CEO Scott O'Neil said, "This is a really fun property that we think has a really big upside." Financial terms were not disclosed, but an industry source "estimated Team Dignitas to be valued in the mid-to-high seven figures." Along with sponsorship sales and resources for player development, the Sixers will "focus on helping Dignitas create and distribute social media and digital content." WME-IMG Head of E-Sports Tobias Sherman "helped facilitate the deal." Some other NBA owners have "already joined the fray" in e-sports in a "limited fashion," including Celtics co-Owner Jim Pallotta and Grizzlies co-Exec Chair Steve Kaplan (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 9/26 issue).
GROWING THE GAMES: ESPN.com's Darren Rovell notes the acquisitions come "about a year after a presentation on the growth" of e-sports was made at an NBA BOG meeting. O'Neil also has brought on Greg Richardson, an exec "who has had a career in consumer tech and video gaming and will oversee the project for the team." Richardson said, "It's an incredibly large, immature market that is somewhat of a Wild West." Rovell notes Dignitas, which has "been in the space for 13 years, has teams in various leagues that play in five games." Although Richardson said there might be some cross-branding between the 76ers and the e-sports team, the two markets, he said, have their differences, "and if you don't respect that you're in trouble." One of the "most important synergies in the deal could be in the mass merchandising" of e-sports player jerseys. Fanatics Exec Chair Michael Rubin is a "minority partner of the 76ers and is part of this deal" (ESPN.com, 9/26).
