Menu
Download the app

SBJ subscribers – Enhance your experience with the revamped iOS app

Leagues and Governing Bodies

U.S.-Based Elite Sports Of India Brings eSports To College Campuses On Subcontinent

Elite Sports of India is bringing eSports to the world’s second most populous country this summer. The U.S.-based company has reached an agreement with the Association of Indian Universities to introduce competitive gaming at the university level. ESOI acquired the rights to organize and promote the first ever AIU-sanctioned Inter-Zonal eSports tournament this September. Lovely Professional University in India’s Punjab region agreed to host the inaugural tournament, with an exact date yet to be determined. It is not the first time ESOI has brought a new sport to the subcontinent. After launching a professional American football league, Elite Football League of India, the company introduced the sport to India’s universities. It also acquired the commercial rights for India’s university basketball tournament and founded the country’s first pro basketball league. ESOI Founder Richard Whelan described the new project as the “fastest and easiest” venture to launch after having laid the necessary groundwork at the university level through American football and basketball. “It’s also the most economical,” he added.

ESOI’s new eSports arm, called Elite eSports of India, will now be tasked with getting universities to sign up, looking for a marketing company to get the word out and finding hardware manufacturers to establish the infrastructure. EESI is expected to announce the game it will use at the inaugural tournament within the next 90 days, Whelan said. “It will most likely be one of the top five games used in the industry,” he added. Those include titles such as League of Legends, Counter-Strike and Call of Duty.

(L-R) Richard Whelan, Kurt Melcher, Janice Foreman, Dr. Svarnias
ATTRACTING EYEBALLS: ESOI will also look for a broadcast and streaming partner to gain the highest possible viewership for the event. The company currently has a partnership with Ten Sports networks for its other sports properties. Whelan said that ESOI is talking to a number of broadcasters, but has not yet signed a deal as it considers the on-screen exposure germane to EESI’s success. “Viewership turns into money and money drives the size of the sport,” he said. “And if you look at the viewership numbers they are staggering.” Last year’s League of Legends World Championship drew more than 36 million viewers, which is more than the NBA Finals (avg. 19.94 million) or MLB World Series (avg. 14.7 million). ESOI’s move into eSports follows large investments by Turner Broadcasting and Alibaba in the industry. It also added Kurt Melcher in an advisory role to expedite and enhance the development of eSports programs at Indian universities. Melcher, the associate athletic director at Robert Morris University in Chicago, is a pioneer in the industry after creating the first eSports scholarship in the U.S. “Kurt’s connections within the industry along with his name recognition provides us with instant credibility,” Whelan said. “It is hard to predict what eSports will look like in five years,” Melcher said. “But more attention and more corporate involvement can only help the ecosystem to evolve.” Current eSports sponsors include companies such as Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Samsung and Nissan. ESOI also has plans for an IPO in the near term, but did not reveal any further details.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2016/04/27/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/eSports-India-Universities.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2016/04/27/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/eSports-India-Universities.aspx

CLOSE