Zurich-based sports technology boutique Blocksport has announced a partnership with Paris-based esports data provider PandaScore.

The partnership will see PandaScore supply Blocksport with its range of live AI-based esports data, statistics and analytical services, to help Blocksport develop and launch esports-focused mobile apps.

Discussing the news CEO pf PandaScore, Flavien Guillocheau, said:

“Blocksport’s mobile app is bridging the gap between fans, sponsors and esports teams. It brings you everything in one hand. We believe in Blocksport – it’s the perfect way for us to deliver the esports data that fans truly deserve.”

While Co-founder of Blocksport, Semih Kaçan, added:

“The partnership with such an innovative data provider strengthens our social sports ecosystem significantly. We are looking forward to a successful partnership with PandaScore.”

PandaScore currently provides data covering League of Legends, Overwatch, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and says it will be adding support for Rocket League soon.

AYO.NEWS says:

Esports generates huge amounts of real-time data, which can easily overwhelm and make for messy, clunky platforms and services, so having access to effective AI-based analytics and data services is critical to those developers looking to build apps that will deliver real-world value to esports fans.

Staying with PandaScore, in September we reported the company had entered a strategic partnership with UK-based multimedia news agency PA Media (read more).

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Spanish esports organisation Team Queso has partnered with Italian sportswear brand Lotto.

The two-year deal will see Lotto supply the team with footwear and apparel for players, who will wear it while training, streaming and competing.

Commenting on the partnership CEO and founder of Team Queso, Alvaro “Alvaro845” Gonzalez, said:

“We are very excited to have Lotto as a partner for the development of the best technical equipment. During the next two years Team Queso and Lotto will work together to develop clothing and footwear for eSports competitions, as well as casual clothing that our players will wear.”

Team Queso currently fields teams in League of Legends, Clash Royale, Fortnite, CS:GO, Rainbow Six Siege, SMITE, Brawl Stars, Clash of Clans and PUBG Mobile. The organisation also has commercial partnerships in place with pizza chain Telepizza, food service Wetaca, gaming hardware brand Lenovo Legion, and gaming peripheral brand Razer.

AYO.NEWS says:

2019 has seen several sportwear brands enter partnerships with esports organisations, as they seek to connect with the millions of esports fans around the world. Some of the most notable have been both Team Vitality and Team Heretics’ partnerships with adidas, Vexed teaming up with Kappa, LPL and FURIA both joining forces with Nike, Luminosity Gaming working with Champion, and Cloud9’s deal with Puma.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

UK-based movie theatre chain Cineworld Group is set to acquire Canada-based movie theatre chain Cineplex after agreeing a $2.8B CAD ($2.1B USD) deal.

The deal is of significance to the esports and gaming world because, as movie theatres around the world struggle to attract customers in the face of rising costs and increased entertainment competition, they are increasingly looking to gaming and esports.

Cineplex, which operates 165 cinemas across Canada, has an amusement and leisure division that is heavily focused on esports, owning the World Gaming Network, the Collegiate Starleague and the Canadian Championship Series – so its acquisition will instantly make Cineworld a force in the esports industry.

The agreed deal will see Cineworld pay $34 CAD ($25.91) per Cineplex share in cash – a 42% premium on the closing price for its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange on 13^th December.

UK-based Cineworld Group plc is the world’s second biggest cinema chain, with over 9,500 screens across nearly 800 sites in the UK, US, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Israel, Hungary, Czechia, Bulgaria and Slovakia. Its main brands are Regal, Cineworld, Picturehouse, Cinema City and Yes Planet. In 2018 the group reported revenues of £4.119 billion GBP.

AYO.NEWS says:

Large cinema chains like Cineworld and Cineplex are ideally placed to capitalise on esports, already having large facilities in thousands of prime locations. From viewing major esports events, to hosting actual events, with comparatively little investment cinemas could become hubs of local esports and gaming communities .

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Online bookmaker Betway has extended its partnership with esports tournament operator BLAST.

The move comes ahead of BLAST Premier’s 2020 debut and strengthens the partnership that began in March. According to a statement, the extended deal will provide plenty of branding and content opportunities for the bookies throughout BLAST Premier broadcasts.

Apparently, Betway will be “front and centre” when the new BLAST Premier CS:GO tournament series kicks off in London in January 2020. 100 Thieves, Astralis, Complexity Gaming, Evil Geniuses, FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, MIBR, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, OG, Team Liquid and Team Vitality are all confirmed participants, and there will be a $1 million cash prize for the final winner.

Discussing the news Head of Esports at Betway, Adam Savinson, said:

“The esports community is thriving as tournaments like BLAST Premier continue to amplify the world-class excitement that the sport can offer. 2020 promises to be an exhilarating year with an updated format and multiple ways of qualifying for the series. We can’t wait to work with BLAST Premier for a second year, building on this momentum and creating unmissable content to entertain fans across the globe.”

While Commercial Director at BLAST, Leo Matlock, added:

“BLAST securing the renewal of such a reputable and ambitious company as Betway, on the week we launched our new tournament proposition, is testament to our innovative partnership and validation of the trajectory BLAST is on.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Betway is still leading the pack when it comes to traditional bookmakers and esports, having partnered with PSG.LGD, ESL and BIG in 2019, and this latest partnership looks set to help continue that lead into the new year.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

ESL and DreamHack have entered a deal with Blake Broadcasting covering tournament broadcast rights in the US, Canada and Asia (minus China).

The agreement will run from March 2020 through July 2023, with over-the-top streaming service CBNN acting as the exclusive satellite channel for the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive ESL Pro Tour and Dota 2 competitions during the period.

CBNN’s coverage will include tournaments like the Intel Extreme Masters, ESL One, ESL Pro League, DreamHack Masters and DreamHack Open, along with studio broadcasts, highlights, news and interview content.

The broadcaster says its strategy, which includes regional distribution through cable, free-to-air satellite, and OTT streaming, will introduce esports to millions of new homes in North America and Asia.

Discussing the deal CEO of Blake Broadcasting, Bob Blake, explained:

“Our channels are dedicated to providing only the highest quality esports, news, sports, and entertainment content for our viewers, and this ground-breaking deal will make CBNN the largest television broadcaster of esports outside of China.

“We could not find a better partner to provide premium esports content than ESL and DreamHack. Combined with our support from SES and MX1 and our other major content providers and partners, we will be delivering the best in premium esports programming, which will be the priority anchor for our sports initiatives going forward.”

While CCO of ESL, Thomas Schmidt, added:

“ESL and DreamHack are extremely focused on improving the coverage and reach of our events, and with this partnership, our tournaments and other content will be available to hundreds of millions of satellite- and cable-equipped homes.

“Our agreement with BBN is in line with our ambition to expand our programming to mainstream audiences without compromising our world-class digital coverage for the esports community that we’re committed to serve.”

Black Broadcasting says it delivers more than 1,500 news stories each month, covering sports, fashion, entertainment, technology, music and film. The company claims its network has 60 million daily viewers, 46 major partners globally, 82 websites in operation, and 12 different news feeds.

It recently partnered with global satellite operator SES as its exclusive satellite network provider for CBBN networks in Europe, Asia and North America. CBNN is slated to go live across Europe in January 2020, with operations based in Luxembourg, it will go live in Asia in March, and North America, based out of Florida, in June.

Meanwhile, Modern Times Group (MTG), owner of both ESL and DreamHack, has morphed DreamHack into DreamHack Sports Games, in an attempt to close the gap between traditional sports and esports, focusing on competitive leagues and broadcasts.

AYO.NEWS says:

This deal will expose a lot of new viewers to esports, but its ultimate success will depend on its execution. TV esports coverage so far has been hit and miss to say the least, and mostly failed to connect on any meaningful level with fans – probably because most fans don’t really look to traditional satellite or cable TV for entertainment anymore. However, the TV broadcast market is still big, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Note to Blake Broadcasting: for the sake of peoples’ eyes, please sort out that white text on bright yellow backgrounds!

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

Riot Games has revealed the recent League of Legends World Championship Finals attracted record viewership.

According to Riot , views reached 21.8M global average-minute-audience (AMA), and hit as high as 44M concurrent viewers.

The Worlds 2019 finals took place in Paris on 10^th November, when Europe’s G2 Esports took on China’s FunPlus Phoenix, with the Chinese team lifting the trophy. The event was broadcast in 16 languages and across more than 20 platforms.

AMA is favoured by both Riot and Activision Blizzard, who in partnership with Nielsen are pushing for the metric to be the standard measure of esports viewership. AMA is a measurement of the average audience at any given moment of a broadcast, and as such is similar to standard Nielsen ratings.

Activision Blizzard has been reporting AMA metrics since 2018 – reporting an AMA of 1.12M for the 2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals.

AYO.NEWS says:

The viewing figures are certainly impressive, and its good to see Riot, Activision and Nielson work to standardise metrics, so that everyone can make more accurate and meaningful comparisons.

Putting things in perspective though, according to Fifa, an average of 191 million viewers tuned into each match during the 2018 World Cup in Russia – but this just shows how much growth potential space for growth still exists for esports.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.