What Happened
Following DraftKings’ announcement of extending its fantasy sports platform into esports, rival platform FanDuel unveiled a similar plan to enter competitive video gaming with its acquisition of AlphaDraft, an esports site that offers fantasy contests.
In related news, TBS announced today that it’s teaming up with WME-IMG to air 20 live programs of professional gamers playing the popular video game “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” beginning next year in prime time.
What Brands Need To Do
Over the past few years, esports have grown into a massive media platform that attracts hundreds of millions of spectators and generates billions of dollars.The TBS deal marks a significant milestone for the competitive gaming industry, as the show holds a primetime slot on a widely distributed basic cable network. Previously, brands were only able to reach its highly coveted young male audience by sponsoring esports events, and this new TBS show, along with the new esports fantasy sports platforms, offer new places to reach millennial men.