Menu
Download the app

SBJ subscribers – Enhance your experience with the revamped iOS app

Esports

Esports Gaining Popularity As Major Sports Continue To Be Postponed

Major stick and ball sports are "postponed for the foreseeable future, if not canceled completely, leaving playing video games -- and watching others play them -- as two of the limited choices left to sate our social and entertainment thirst," according to Jorge Castillo of the L.A. TIMES. More than 150 million Americans "identify as gamers, and not just the influencers who have become wealthy stars." Esports were "built for the quarantine culture," and with hundreds of millions now "shut in for the time being, an already robust community senses an opportunity." This "could be esports’ moment." Dignitas Chief of Staff Ryan Friedman said, "With the cancellation of traditional sports, a lot of people who would have never given esports a chance are going to start at least looking into it and that’s a good opportunity for esports to draw in a bunch of new viewers." Esports had "several major events on the calendar canceled, but most entities have been able to continue competition knowing an amplified audience is available." Twitch has set "all-time highs this month in peak daily active users (22.7 million), average concurrent viewers (1.6 million), and number of streamers (65,000)." In recent weeks, traditional sports entities like NASCAR also have "turned to the virtual world" (L.A. TIMES, 3/30). In N.Y., Kevin Liles wrote under the header, "Online, Virtual Games Escape The New Reality" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/30).

For more coverage of the business of esports, visit our partners, esportsobserver.com.

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/Daily/Issues/2020/03/31/Esports/Esports.aspx

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

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2020/03/31/Esports/Esports.aspx

CLOSE