On Thursday, the streaming site Twitch hosted the first-ever Fortnite Streamer Bowl, a “pro-am”-style tournament in which teams of esports and NFL stars competed for a charity prize pool of $500,000. The unlikely duo of Chicago Bears running back Tarik Cohen and 14-year-old Fortnite pro Clix took home the loot, beating favorites Bugha and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Big picture: The NFL is trying to turn FaZe Clan followers into 49ers fans. And it’s one of many “traditional” leagues looking to capture the magic (and audience) of esports.
Ride the wave
It’s hard to ignore the flying bus that picks you up at the beginning of a Fortnite match. It’s even harder for traditional sports leagues to ignore the rise of their digital twins:
- Competitive gaming’s biggest event of the year, the League of Legends World Championship, drew nearly 100 million unique online viewers in late 2018. For comparison, just north of 98 million watched Super Bowl LIII between the Patriots and the Rams, and 97.9 million fell asleep by halftime.
- Business Insider Intelligence estimates that total esports viewership will grow to 646 million in 2023 from 454 million in 2019.
- Men ages 21–35 make up 43% of U.S. esports fans, according to Newzoo. That’s traditional sports leagues’ most coveted demo.
Traditional sports leagues haven’t ignored the headlines
They’ve pulled an Obi-Wan Kenobi by taking esports under their wing—in the hope that it doesn’t grow up to take over their empires.
In 2016, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers became the first North American professional sports team to own an esports team by buying two, Dignitas and Apex. Since then, numerous franchises and individual athletes have either acquired or formed esports teams of their own.
Traditional leagues are also becoming more deliberate about leveraging the popular virtual versions of themselves.
- 22 NHL teams held local esports tournaments last season.
- The MLS launched a FIFA league in 2018.
- The NBA’s NBA 2K league is heading into its third season this spring. Featuring contracts, salaries, and sponsors, it looks a lot like the actual NBA. But maybe with smaller jerseys.
- The NFL syncs Madden events with the football season’s schedule. The league is also going beyond its namesake video game by striking partnerships for tentpole events like the Streamer Bowl and adding buyable jersey “skins” to Fortnite.
What about the loot?
Newzoo estimates esports will make $1.1 billion in revenue in 2019, a 27% uptick from 2018. Still, that’s less than the NFL’s least valuable franchise is worth: The Buffalo Bills are currently valued at $1.5 billion.
But no one wants to miss the chance to turn streamers into simoleons. While esports is still at Level 1, the explosion of games like Fortnite (which handed out $100 million in prizes for the first year of tournaments) means it could level up, fast.
Bottom line: Traditional leagues want to make sure they have the infrastructure in place to capitalize on the space, or at the very least, to make sure your younger cousin knows who they are.
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February 01, 2020 at 04:47AM
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Traditional Sports Leagues Are Waging a Battle Royale for Esports - Morning Brew
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