Turner Sports ad sales executives say they have never seen so much activity around a sport as they are seeing with e-sports. Bigger leagues are signing more deals for more money. But many advertisers are taking a crash course on e-sports, according to Seth Ladetsky, Turner Sports’ senior vice president of ad sales.
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LADETSKY
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“We kind of become consultants,” Ladetsky said. “Everyone knows about the NBA. Everyone knows where to go with MLB. We’re helping educate companies on the space and where they should go. It’s the Wild West, a little bit.”
Last week, Turner Sports and WME-IMG announced their Eleague’s first three sponsors: Arby’s, Credit Karma and Buffalo Wild Wings. They paid about $2 million per year on two-year deals for an e-sports league that launches May 24 and runs through July 30.
The amount of advertiser interest reminds Ladetsky of NASCAR around the turn of the century, which he sold for Turner Sports. That was around the time that the sport started to gain in popularity.
“Fans were super passionate, and we felt a groundswell of that fan base,” he said. “I’m getting that same feeling with e-sports.”
— John Ourand
