AT&T has closed its first esports team sponsorship, coming to terms with Cloud9 on a deal that includes presenting rights to “The Nines,” a new weekly digital video series about the organization’s 12 teams. AT&T also will sponsor the team’s “communications hub” inside its forthcoming HQ in L.A., and place its logo on the back and sleeve of Cloud9’s competition jerseys. "The Nines" will mark a shift in content strategy for Cloud9, and it will allow AT&T to market to an aggregated fan base. “We don’t have a single place where you can just go find out what’s happening in the Cloud9 universe in one spot, and I think that’s what’s unique about what we’re building here,” said co-Founder & CEO Jack Etienne.
Terms were not disclosed. Cloud9 Head of Partnerships Jordan Udko handled the deal for the team. AT&T Assistant VP/Sponsorships & Experiential Marketing Shiz Suzuki said Cloud9 stood out among teams for its "crazy passionate fan base." She also indicated that esports will play a role in promoting AT&T’s coming deployment of 5G tech. AT&T broke into esports in '18 by sponsoring ESL competitions at E3, and it also backs the NBA 2K League.
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