Svensk TV-selskab investerer 580.000.000 kr. i ESL

ESL, the world’s largest esports company, is excited to announce another huge step forward for itself and esports, with the Swedish digital entertainment company MTG purchasing a 74% share of the company. The investment, which aligns two strong like minded entities opens many synergies and opportunities which promise exciting times for the esports industry. ESL. 

ESL annoncerer investeringen og det nye samarbejde på deres officielle hjemmeside, hvor de også kan fortælle, at både ledelse og grundlæggere fortsætter deres arbejde i organisationen, og de har bundet sig dertil med nogle lange kontrakter. 

Taking on the role of central driver of MTG’s digital strategy, ESL will continue to function as an independent company, with ESL’s management team and founders retaining 26% of the company and committing through long term contracts. With the backing of MTG, the team is committed to delivering the largest and most prestigious events & leagues, accelerating its global expansion with strategic partnerships and delivering the highest level of esports to fans all over the world. ESL.

Et sundhedstegn for e-sporten
ESL har længe været en af de største spillere på e-sports-markedet, og lige nu arbejder de sammen med ESEA om at afholde den store $1.000.000 ESL ESEA Pro League, hvor der i den kommende weekend er storstævne i Køln.

ESL ESEA Pro League har en præmiesum på $1.000.000. Foto: ESL ESEA

Ralf Reichert er grundlægger og CEO i ESL og Turtle Entertainment (der ejer ESL), og han udtaler følgende:

 “When we founded ESL 15 years ago, our goal was to bring esports to fans all around the world and establish it as a global sport. Today, esports enjoys worldwide recognition and now, together with MTG, it is time to take esports to the next level. We are excited to partner with MTG, who share our enthusiasm for the sport and bring an entrepreneurial commitment to help make this dream come true. MTG’s extensive operational network in over 100 countries will help us bring ESL and esports to many more places around the world, while allowing us to continue expanding on strong, strategic local partnerships. The ESL leadership team could not be more excited about accelerating the development of the entire esports industry together with MTG for years to come.” - Ralf Reichert

Investeringen er et sundhedstegn for e-sporten, og demonstrerer bedre end noget andet, at interessen er stærkt stigende. MTG er et meget stort foretagende, der har over 3.000-ansatte og årligt omsætter for mere end 14 milliarder svenske kroner. Ifølge Wikipedia skulle MTG igennem datterselskabet Viasat være den største udbyder af gratis- og betalings-tv i både Scandinavien og de baltiske lande. De har desuden en andel i den største uafhængige TV-kanal i Rusland og driver gratis kanaler i 10 lande og betalings-TV i 22 lande. Det samlede seergrundlag anslås derfor til omkring 80 millioner seere.

MTG har et hav af kanaler i lande verden over. Billede: MTG

Med så stor en international koncern i ryggen, er det ikke svært at forestille sig, at e-sporten kunne nå ud til endnu flere seere og måske fange et helt nyt publikum. 

E-sportsfans er ikke mange penge værd
Men deres potentiale er enormt! I pressemeddelelsen hos MTG fortæller de, at en gennemsnits e-sports entusiast kun genererer en omsætning på $2, hvorimod en "traditionel" sportsfan genererer hele $56 i omsætning. Dette ser MTG dog ikke som en svaghed, men som et enormt potentiale, der blot venter på at blive opfyldt.

 “At MTG, we love sports and we love sports fans. Our TV channels and platforms are home to the world’s leading sports brands, and are watched by typically young audiences. Esports is fast becoming one of the most watched and passionately followed global sports categories amongst younger audiences. There are now almost as many gamers in the world as traditional sports fans, and esports was almost as big as ice hockey in 2014 in terms of number of enthusiasts. However, the average revenue generated per esports enthusiast in 2014 was just over USD 2, compared to USD 56 for traditional sports fans, so this global phenomenon has tremendous potential." - MTG.

Med MTG i ryggen kan ESL muligvis nå et helt nyt og langt større publikum. Foto: MTG.

Hvad betyder det for e-sporten?
Først og fremmest skal dette ses som en mulighed for at nå ud til et nyt publikum. Og da ESL's ledelse fortsætter, skal vi nok ikke forvente ændringer i, hvad der bliver sendt, men mere hvor tilgængeligt indholdet bliver. Mest af alt virker det nemlig til, at MTG vil benytte deres enormt store udbud af TV-kanaler til at sprede e-sporten til endnu flere mennesker verden over. Og det er godt nyt. ESL har selv lavet en fin FAQ, som du også kan læse herunder:

Why sell a majority share of ESL?
A key pillar of ESL’s history has always been building a self-sustaining profitable operation. As such the choice to seek out a single majority investor was not driven by necessity but in order to help us fulfill our dreams of growing esports into a mainstream sport. The move to consolidate ESL’s multiple investors into a single investor, who not only shares our entrepreneurial mindset but also has synergetic resources, allows us to do exactly that.

Who are MTG and why them and not another company? 
MTG are Swedish digital entertainment company which operates free-TV channels in 10 countries. Like ESL they have flat hierarchy and entrepreneurial background and share many of our goals and aspirations. While looking for potential partners, it was with MTG that we saw the most potential to grow esports to even bigger heights. We are super excited to explore the synergies and growth opportunities for ESL & esports.

What changes will there be going forward? 
The team that has built ESL since 2000 will stay onboard. ESL is a company built on passion about esports and nothing will change about that. We set the goal of building the world’s biggest esports company and bringing the biggest most prestigious events to fans around the world. Nothing changes about that, except that we are in a better position than ever to execute on those aspirations. ESL will do what it has always done, boldly push the boundaries of what is possible

How will this affect viewers/players/esports as a whole?
ESL has always had the aim of creating the most legendary esports experiences possible. With events like IEM Katowice, ESL One Frankfurt, ESL One Cologne, IEM San Jose, we’ve brought esports to stadiums, while our Pro Leagues are helping build the highest standard of esports competition for a multitude of games. We will continue to deliver bigger and better events for the games we already support, while continuing to build esports ecosystems for those that are still up and coming.

What does the sale to a media group with TV stations mean for ESL, esports and online viewership?
It allows us to reach an even wider audience and explore new opportunities. We will continue to work with our longstanding and awesome online partners but can now also explore avenues and channels which were previously difficult to get into.