Activision Blizzard Builds ESPN of Esports via Major League Gaming Buy

Summary: Major League Gaming buy by Activision Blizzard helps the American video games publishing company build the ESPN of Esports.

MLG's Board of Directors approved the $46 million sale to Activision Blizzard Dec. 21, 2015: Bobby Kotick @BobbyKotick via Twitter Jan. 4, 2016

On Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, American video games publishing company Activision Blizzard announced their Major League Gaming buy, an acquisition that is priced at $46 million via an Asset Purchase Agreement with MLG and that tips Activision within reach of its mission to mainstream esports.

“Our acquisition of Major League Gaming’s business furthers our plans to create the ESPN of esports. MLG’s ability to create premium content and its proven broadcast technology platform -- including its live streaming capabilities -- strengthens our strategic position in competitive gaming,” Robert A. “Bobby” Kotick, Activision Blizzard’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), explained the significance of Activision Blizzard’s Major League Gaming buy in a press release issued on Jan. 4. “MLG has an incredibly strong and seasoned team and a thriving community. Together, we will create new ways to celebrate players and their unique skills, dedication and commitment to gaming. We are excited to add Sundance [DiGiovanni] and the entire MLG esports team to our competitive gaming initiatives.”

As an early, influential organizer of professional video game competitions, Major League Gaming has assumed a respectable leadership in its emphasis on creating and streaming live premium gaming events and running competitive gaming leagues. MLG’s online broadcasting network, MLG.tv, streams esport matches to consoles, mobile devices and personal computers.

Mike Sepso, MLG Co-founder and now Senior Vice President of Activision Blizzard Media Networks, applauded Activision Blizzard’s Major League Gaming buy. “Sundance and I founded MLG to highlight the incredible talent of competitive gamers all over the world. Activision Blizzard’s esports leadership, incredible intellectual property and long history in competitive gaming create a perfect home for MLG’s capabilities,” Sepso stated in Activision Blizzard’s press release. “The acquisition of MLG’s business is an important step towards Activision Blizzard Media Networks’ broader mission to bring esports into the mainstream by creating and broadcasting premium esports content, organizing global league play and expanding distribution with key gaming partners.”

As the world’s largest interactive gaming company, Activision Blizzard has founded its successful presentation of breakthrough entertainment experiences upon careful research followed by a highly focused approach. Activision Blizzard’s genre-defining string of hits includes such iconic blockbusters as Diablo®, Hearthstone®, StarCraft® and World of Warcraft®.

The world’s most successful standalone interactive entertainment company notes on its corporate website: “In fact, six times in the past decade, Activision Blizzard has created the biggest game in the year for our industry.”

Esports, also known as electronic sports or pro-gaming, refers to a primarily electronic-based sport that mediates video games players’ and teams’ inputs and esports system outputs via human-computer interfaces. Amateur and pro video game players compete via leagues, ladders and tournaments that are broadcast via such online streaming media platforms as MLG.tv. Esports’ spectatorship currently is estimated at over 100 million unique viewers and is projected to increase to over 300 million viewers by 2017.

MLG co-founder Sundance DiGiovanni joined co-founder Mike Sepso in applauding Activision Blizzard’s Major League Gaming Buy as a critical move for the future of the lucrative computer-based and computer-broadcast sport: “Our mission for over 12 years has been to promote and expand the growth of competitive gaming worldwide, and today the industry is at a key inflection as its popularity soars and rivals that of many traditional professional sports. This acquisition and Activision Blizzard’s commitment to competitive gaming will expand the opportunities for gamers to be recognized and celebrated for their competitive excellence.”

Activision Blizzard's lengthy involvement with esports includes BlizzCon, subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment's gaming convention held annually since 2005 at California's Anaheim Convention Center; BlizzCon 2013, Nov. 7, 2013: Glenn Batuyong, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

MLG's Board of Directors approved the $46 million sale to Activision Blizzard Dec. 21, 2015: Bobby Kotick @BobbyKotick via Twitter tweet of Jan. 4, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/BobbyKotick/status/684134028228694017

Activision Blizzard's lengthy involvement with esports includes BlizzCon, subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment's gaming convention held annually since 2005 at California's Anaheim Convention Center; BlizzCon 2013, Nov. 7, 2013: Glenn Batuyong, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/glennbatuyong/10827686024/

For further information:

Bobby Kotick @BobbyKotick. "Welcome @mlg to the Activision Blizzard family! Excited to have MLG's strong, seasoned team join us as we create the ESPN of esports." Twitter. Jan. 4, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/BobbyKotick/status/684134028228694017

Bräutigam (Braeutigamer), Thiemo. "MLG sells 'substantially all' assets to Activision Blizzard for $46 million, DiGiovanni replaced." eSports Observer. Dec. 31, 2015.
Available @ http://esportsobserver.com/mlg-sells-substantially-all-assets-to-activision-blizzard-for-46-million/

IGN News. "Activision Confirms MLG Acquisition - IGN News." YouTube. Jan. 4, 2016.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPzobLtlayY

Mitchell, Ferguson (AlphaFerg). "Understanding the MLG-Activision Blizzard sale, and how it wraps up a decade of drama surrounding Gotfrag." eSports Observer. Jan. 11, 2016.
Available @ http://esportsobserver.com/understanding-the-mlg-activision-blizzard-sale-and-how-it-wraps-up-a-decade-of-drama-surrounding-gotfrag/

"MLG to Serve as the Foundation for Activision Blizzard's Esports Broadcast Network." Activision Blizzard > Jan. 4, 2016. Release.
Available @ http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=948649

Muncy, Jake. "Activision Buys Major League Gaming, An E-Sports Giant." Wired > Culture. Jan. 4, 2016.
Available @ http://www.wired.com/2016/01/activision-major-league-gaming/

Warr, Philippa. "eSports in Numbers: Five mind-blowing stats." Redbull > esports. April 9, 2014.
Available @ http://www.redbull.com/ca/en/esports/stories/1331644628389/esports-in-numbers-five-mind-blowing-stats

Wingfield, Nick. "Activision Buys Major League Gaming to Broaden Role in E-Sports." The New York Times > Technology. Jan. 4, 2016.
Available @ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/technology/activision-buys-major-league-gaming-to-broaden-role-in-e-sports.html?smid=tw-share&_r=2
Available @ http://www.21cm.com/news.stm