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Esports "could be the secret weapon" to help the Australian Football League "lure millennials into its orbit," according to Anthony Colangelo of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. It is already a A$1.2B ($903,000) global industry with an annual audience of 239 million people, "mostly in the elusive 14-to-34-year age group." The AFL is "preparing to enter the burgeoning field in a bold bid to broaden the exposure of its brand and boost sponsorship revenue." The league is "keen on running" an esports tournament at Etihad Stadium, "which it assumed ownership of last October," and wants AFL clubs to sponsor or create their own esports teams, "as some have with AFL Women's and Super Netball." AFL Commercial Operations Manager Darren Birch said, "Esports events sell out. They are amazing live events. There are more screens, more activities going on, more lights, more LED displays. Some of the tournaments I have seen show that esports is more concert-like than sport-like, but that's what appeals to that younger audience." Australia has eight top-tier professional esports teams with "hundreds of semi-professional and amateur outfits below them." The industry in Australia, according to team execs, is "on the tipping point of becoming more mainstream" as it is in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Birch said that the AFL wanted to use esports to put its brand and its clubs' brands "in front of millennials in order to expand audiences and sponsorship revenue." Birch added, "Esports is very strong in the millennial area, so for us it is about diverse exposure to that audience. That's no different to AFLW where we became more relevant to a female audience" (
SMH, 5/2).
