A new advisory firm has been formed by executives from both esports and traditional sports: the Electronic Sports Group (ESG).
Formed by Mike Sepso, Co-founder of Major League Gaming (MLG) and Bobby Sharma, former SVP at IMG, ESG will “deliver strategic business advice to senior management at clients across the advertising, finance, sports, and media industries”.
Ken Hershman, former President of HBO Sports and former Executive Chairman of the World Esports Association, has joined ESG as a partner.
Sepso, who will serve as Chairman of ESG, discussed the new venture: “Bobby and I envisioned Electronic Sports Group to provide a level of expertise and strategic insight that is missing in esports. Our team combines an extensive network of relationships, with deep institutional knowledge, and seasoned operational and transactional expertise to deliver a superior level of service for clients.”
Bobby Sharma, who is a Founding Partner, also touched on ESG: “Esports commands a massive, global audience that’s well over 400 million strong, primarily 18-34 and nearly a third of which doesn’t consume traditional sports,” said Sharma. “Whether to better connect their core products with the esports community, or to find growth opportunities within the space, traditional sports stakeholders can no longer afford to wait on the sideline.”
ESG has a strategic partnership with Nielsen, a key player in audience measurement and intelligence in the esports industry. The newly-announced firm will be provided with “esports fan insights and sponsorship valuation data”.
Nicole Pike, Managing Director of Nielsen Esports added: “Electronic Sports Group’s collective experience, knowledge, and credibility backed by reliable, independent measurement from Nielsen Esports offers the industry a greatly needed resource to help the esports sector mature and begin fulfilling its full economic potential.”
ESG has announced another strategic partnership in the form of Sports Media Advisors (SMA), both firms will provide collaboratively advise clients that require expertise in esports and media.
Doug Perlman, Founder of Sports Media Advisors commented: “Like so many others, we see esports as a huge growth opportunity and couldn’t imagine a more respected or qualified group of professionals to partner with in the space.”
Esports Insider says: Having Mike Sepso and Bobby Sharma joining forces instantly makes ESG a big name in multiple industries, including esports. The partnerships that the firm has already formed will undoubtedly help it to provide a solid service as long as the information obtained is accurate and put to good use.