The Esports Insider Super Forum is set to take place on March 22nd, featuring a varied host of panelists, speakers and workshops covering the crossover of esports, traditional sports, and everything in between.
One of those panels is moderated by the fantastic Kirsty Endfield, founder of Swipe Right PR, with several speakers discussing the roles of media rights and broadcasting in esports.
Endfield will be getting the best out of a panel consisting of:-
- Gfinity’s Head of Partner Relations – Martin Wyatt
- ESL UK Marketing & Communications Manager – Heather ‘Naysayerz’ Dower
- Ginx TV CEO – Michiel Bakker
Twitch has ensured most people expect to watch the best of the best in esports compete at no cost. Media rights and broadcasting deals are an inevitable part of esports growth however, and we’ve seen some exclusive deals begin to be signed such as that between ESL and Facebook. But these exclusive deals come with their own problems. Our speakers will face the question: What’s the future of media rights and broadcasting in esports?
There has been a lot of criticism of late of tournament organisers signing these exclusivity deals with providers other than Twitch, but as the industry grows it has become inevitable that fans may have to get their fix through other avenues such as YouTube, Facebook, Mixer or even on traditional TV for events such as those hosted by ELEAGUE.
Our speakers are veterans of the esports industry with a wealth of knowledge that we hope to relay to anyone in attendance at the panel; with media rights expected to contribute to 18% of esports revenue this year (according to Newzoo), forecasted to only increase year-on-year, the topic is a prominent one of interest to fans, players, organisations and investors alike.
The Esports Insider Super Forum will feature five other panels besides this one, with a multitude of speakers and panellists spanning a variety of topics from sponsorship to the logistics of team ownership and the increasing convergence of sports and esports.
We have also recently announced that football legend and Ballon d’Or winner Ruud Gullit will be joining us on the day as a keynote speaker, discussing how and why he got involved with esports with Team Gullit, his FIFA esports academy that nurtures and educates up and coming stars to transform them into “the finished product”.
Gullit is amongst the first in the football world to take such steps into esports, alongside other players such as Spanish centre back Barcelona’s Gerard Pique. In other sports, especially American football, basketball and elsewhere we’ve seen this trend too. The likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Rick Fox, Fernando Alonso, Alex Rodriguez and more have all gotten themselves involved.
With more teams and personalities gradually getting involved, it appears now is the best time to discuss just how and why the merging of our two worlds is so important.
Make sure you get your ESI Super Forum tickets before the event and book your place to be in attendance with some of the most important names in the world of esports and sports.
For more information or with any enquiries, please reach out to [email protected]