It’s no secret esports is booming as mainstream media the likes of ESPN and Turner Broadcasting sign on—all by having an eye toward reaching teenagers and the advertisers that may follow. But with the most part, the bulk of hard-core gamers is drawn to Amazon’s Twitch and YouTube, streaming the less brand-friendly, first-person shooter games like Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Overwatch. But now professional sports leagues are starting to partner with Twitch, and also cable nets ESPN2 and Disney XD, and are also ushering brands to the burgeoning esports space. With 2 billion gamers on the globe and 385 million thinking about watching esports, gaming has huge potential. That’s why professional sports leagues just like the NBA, NFL and MLS will work with video gaming publishers to construct their own leagues and score a number of the $906 million in revenue projected because of this year, based on Newzoo, an esports researching the market firm. Pro sports leagues see two advantages from the new franchises: attracting a broader range of advertisers and building out their brands. MLS senior director of properties and events James Ruth said diving to the gaming space produces a lot of sense for that younger-skewing audience. Ruth said roughly 65 percent of avid MLS followers became fans of soccer by means of EA Sports’ FIFA, the industry higher percentage than these who became MLS fans by actually playing the activity. “As we always think about the channels we have now available to us to develop our next generation of fans, gaming is absolutely important to that,” said Ruth. Many MLS players are gamers themselves, and that which in mind, “It’s only natural for MLS to utilize gaming to be a conduit to generate great content, or different touch points with https://www.mmoah.com/madden-mobile