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In-Depth

Taking the games to the fans

When live sports shut down, leagues and teams shifted to video-game versions of their sports to entertain those who were staying at home and to engage potential new followers.

MLB and teams launch multiple game simulations

In lieu of the first several weeks of the MLB season, the league and its clubs have rolled out a series of virtual competitions to entertain baseball-starved fans during the shutdown. Most prominently, the MLB The Show Players League, which was to conclude May 3, exceeded the league’s expectations in popularity. Every team was controlled by a current MLB player, including rising stars like Bo Bichette of the Blue Jays and Juan Soto of the Nationals. After initially being shown on MLB’s YouTube channel and MLB Network’s Twitch channel, competition moved the past few weeks to ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 and MLB Network. Through two full weeks of streaming, there have been more than 24 million video views on Players League streams and content on MLB/club social and owned and operated platforms. An added bonus has been that fans got to see various players exhibiting their personalities in a relaxed setting. 

Another league-driven initiative has been the MLB Dream Bracket, which features all-time rosters across baseball history competing to crown the best team in the sport’s history. The 32-team tournament includes rosters for all 30 franchises, a Negro League All-Star Team and a 25-and-under team made up of current players. Each game is simulated by Out of the Park Baseball 21; the championship begins May 4.

A number of teams also have entered the virtual competition space. The San Diego Padres, for instance, each Friday stream a new simulated game on MLB The Show while producing a full broadcast utilizing play-by-play from Don Orsillo and Mark Grant. Between innings, they feature entertainment that highlights their fans and corporate partner integrations. 

What’s more, on the originally scheduled Opening Day of March 26, the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies did in fact play, just not on the field at Marlins Park. Instead, they played virtually on MLB The Show, with controllers handled by Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas and Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins. There were more than 10,000 views that day and 25,000 unique impressions on the Marlins’ YouTube Channel. Miami also saw a 10% increase in subscribers to its YouTube account. — Eric Prisbell

The MLB The Show Players Tournament matchup between the Cubs’ Ian Happ and the Rangers’ Joey Gallo offered a look inside the new Globe Life Field.
 

Tennis’ effort sees limitations

The Mutua Madrid Open Virtual Pro was held last week in place of the actual Madrid Open pro tennis tournament, which was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Only one other tennis entity — the Australian Open — is trying something like this, so credit to the tournament’s organizers for making the effort, despite some obvious shortcomings (game lag, announcers talking over the players). The event laid bare some of tennis’ shortcomings, and its potential, in the world of video games.

Tennis World Tour: The game used in the tournament was not critically well received in 2018, and several times during Andy Murray’s first match, he showed restraint from openly bashing the game. The use of TWT is a reminder of the major challenges to making a realistic and top-notch tennis simulation, namely the major licensing effort required. Top sports video game-makers EA Sports and 2K haven’t produced a tennis title in at least seven years and tennis lacks a recognizable video game brand to bring new fans into the sport.

Belinda Bencic intro video: Bencic, the WTA’s eighth-ranked player, posted a comical video before her match mimicking a serious pre-match walk to the tennis court in her own house. It was a reminder that digital possibilities abound with this younger generation of tennis players, many of whom have big personalities and are digital and social media natives.

Platform uniformity: The tournament was streamed on Facebook, but the pros streamed their matches on several other platforms. Gael Monfils withdrew the night before the event because of what he called a streaming conflict — Monfils is associated with Twitch — while Murray and Rafael Nadal streamed their matches on Twitch, which undoubtedly drew viewers away from Facebook’s  official feed. WTA stars Donna Vekic and Eugenie Bouchard’s exchanges on Instagram Live as they fought through technical challenges to play their match were fun and authentic. — Bret McCormick

 

NBA players and league pivot to 2K tourney

Last month, the NBA created the virtual NBA 2K Players Tournament as a way to bring at least some basketball content to fans.

The event, held from April 3-11, featured 16 current NBA players competing online in a single-elimination tournament in NBA 2K20 with the winner giving a $100,000 donation to charity. Average viewership for the tournament, aired on ESPN and ESPN2, was 195,000 (see chart below). 

The league and the National Basketball Players Association partnered with sponsor and video game licensee 2K on the event.

Phoenix Suns All-Star guard Devin Booker proved to be a star in the virtual world too, winning the tournament by beating teammate Deandre Ayton in the final.

That all-Suns matchup dovetailed nicely with Phoenix’s team-specific effort. The Suns were the first NBA team to conduct its own virtual games via NBA 2K early in the shutdown. Different Phoenix players, including Booker and Ayton, and others from opposing teams played out the remaining 17 games of the team’s schedule with the virtual games streamed on Twitch, Facebook and Twitter. Those games combined for 7.9 million views.

“From the onset after the shutdown we were looking at how to fulfill partners and engage fans and fill broadcast hours,” said Dean Stoyer, the Suns’ chief marketing and communications officer. “We moved quickly and if we had waited, we would have lost momentum. People wanted to be a part of it.” — John Lombardo

Free agent DeMarcus Cousins reps the Nets in his game against Andre Drummond of the Clippers in the first round of the NBA 2K Players Tournament.
 

Tournament to match up MLS and eMLS players on fox channels

MLS is one of several pro soccer leagues and properties diving into gaming and esports content for its fans, who are hopeful the season returns on June 8, the earliest date matches could resume. In their absence, the league and Fox Sports are airing a five-episode eMLS Tournament Special where MLS and eMLS players compete in a single-elimination format around FIFA 20.

Matches, which currently air on FS1, Fox Deportes and the Fox Sports app, conclude May 17 when a champion will be crowned. Like MLS, the lower-tier USL previously livestreamed its eCup: Rocket League edition via the ESPN app and website last month. Others — like La Liga North America, the Women’s International Champions Cup and Uninterrupted — broadcast a FIFA 20 tournament April 25-26 to raise money for Feeding America.

Beginning April 10, Liga MX also began holding its own eLiga competition with each team having three players participate in the FIFA-style tournament, which is being aired on Univision’s TUDN.

“It has a future even [after the return to normal],” said Marco Liceaga, senior vice president, sports marketing and business development at Univision. “I’m sure in the future when this passes we’ll work on ways to keep an esports platform up and running. Format, how it looks, when, etc., we don’t know, to be honest. It’s encouraging what we’re seeing.” — Mark J. Burns

 

NHL using stars inside and outside of hockey to engage fans

All 32 clubs, and the league, have continued to provide fans some semblance of hockey, albeit in a different format. On April 30, the league launched a four-week NHL Player Gaming Challenge featuring head-to-head competition via EA Sports’ NHL 20. Nearly 50 players — including Seattle Seahawks tight end Luke Willson, representing the NHL Seattle team scheduled to begin play in 2021-22 — are taking part. As part of the initiative, the NHL Foundation and EA Sports donated $100,000 to the CDC Foundation’s COVID-19 relief and encouraged fans to contribute, too.

The NHL’s Chris Golier, vice president of business development and innovation, said that the main takeaway with the new programming, which will appear in its entirety on NHL Network and Sportsnet’s website, is that “we’re still serving our fans during the pause.”

“A lot of fans learn the game through video games and get their fan affinity of teams and players through video games,” he added. “It’s facilitating and fostering conversations during a time when there isn’t a ton being pushed out because we don’t have our games.”

Teams also have jumped more into the gaming space since the suspension of league play on March 12. According to Golier, a majority of clubs have simulated at least one game online, including providing play-by-play and color commentary for fans.

Additionally, on April 22, Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky and Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin competed in their own NHL 20 competition live on Twitch as the duo raised over $41,000 to support COVID-19 relief efforts. Others, such as the Los Angeles Kings, have spearheaded “Mascot Game Night,” a live-to-tape weekly trivia show that streams on Twitch. Since its debut on April 10, mixed martial artist CM Punk and actor Wil Wheaton have made guest appearances, in addition to American Idol alumni Jessica Meuse and Pia Toscano. — Mark J. Burns

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