21st Century Fox-backed live streaming platform Caffeine has secured $113M USD in a Series D financing round. 

The round was led by Fox Corporation, Cox Enterprises, and Saudi Arabia-based Sanabil Investments, and also attracted participation from Silicon Valley VC firms Andreessen Horowitz, and Greylock Partners.

According to Bloomberg, Caffeine is now valued at over $600M, and will be aiming to “differentiate its programming” from its more established rivals like Twitch and YouTube. To this end, it will be investing in “new forms of real-time interactive entertainment.”

Caffeine claims to have signed up two million new users over the last twelve months. It has also entered some notable partnerships, including an exclusive one with Drake, that brought Ultimate Rap League (URL) to the platform. 

Other notable artists now streaming on Caffeine include Offset and Doja Cat, along with JuJu Smith-Schuster of the Pittsburgh Steelers, NBA stars Collin Sexton and Kyle Kuzma, and increasing numbers of gamers, including Crainer, Cartoonz, and Ohmwrecker, along with Ukraine-based esports organisation Natus Vincere. 

Caffeine also features content from major companies like Disney, Fox Sports, ESPN, DreamHack, and Riot Games. 

AYO.NEWS says:

The live streaming platform space is increasingly crowded, but Caffeine seems to be doing something right, and is still attracting content creators and financial backing. Of course, with the world plunging into an unprecedented economic crisis competition is set to intensify, and it remains to be seen if it can successfully innovate and differentiate itself enough to prosper in the long-term.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Simplicity Esports and Gaming Company has acquired PL Gaming Texas LLC, one of America’s most successful franchisee-owned esports gaming centres.

According to a statement from the company, the acquisition was a mixed cash-share type deal, and Simplicity has also executed a lease assignment and amendment that replaces fixed rent with a rate determined from a percentage of gross sales.

Discussing the acquisition President of Simplicity Esports, Roman Franklin, said:

“Our franchisee has done an excellent job building, staffing, and growing this location. The gaming center consists of over 30 gaming stations, gaming related merchandise and accessories for sale, and a quality staff that will remain in place after the acquisition to continue serving the center’s thousands of existing customers.

“The percentage rent lease structure gives us the necessary flexibility to navigate COVID-19 related impacts on customer traffic counts by reducing fixed costs. As previously announced, we continue to use the strength of our corporate guarantee to partner with landlords on percentage rent leases.

“Prior to this acquisition, Simplicity Esports only reported the royalty fees collected from the franchisee in its financial statements. However, because financial reporting for majority owned gaming centers is consolidated, as a result of this acquisition, 100% of this gaming center’s revenue will now be included in Simplicity Esports’ financial statements.”

Simplicity Esports and Gaming owns North American organisation Simplicity Esports, which currency fields teams in Apex Legends, League of Legends, Overwatch, and PUBG Mobile. The company also owns Brazil-based Flamengo Esports, and is a franchisor of over forty esports and gaming centres across America through its PLAYlive Nation business. 

Last month Simplicity announced it was in discussions to sign a Free Fire team for Flamengo Esports. According to mobilegamer.com, Garena’s Free Fire is the most popular mobile game in Brazil, and was the most downloaded mobile game in the world in 2019.

As we previously reported, in March 2020, Simplicity secured an investment from student-run funds manager Triton Funds. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite the COVID-19 crisis severely affecting the physical esports centre sector, especially in hard hit states like Texas, Simplicity is obviously looking at the long-term growth potential here. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Aussie organisation Chiefs Esports Club has partnered with global skincare brand L’Oréal Paris Men Expert.

The deal makes the brand a major partner for the rest of 2020, and will cover activations including giveaways, special tournaments involving Chiefs Esports Club players, and likely content too. 

Discussing the partnership CEO of Chiefs Esports Club, Nick Bobir, said:

“We’ve all had late night gaming sessions and sacrificed how we feel the next morning to get one more game in. 

“L’Oréal Paris Men Expert is a perfect fit for gaming and esports culture to keep us going and feeling fresh. We’re excited to introduce such a prestigious brand to the industry and can’t wait to see the benefit for all our fans.”

While Marketing Director for L’Oréal Paris Australia, Raagjeet Garg, added:

“We are extremely excited to be partnering with The Chiefs in 2020 and introducing many of their fans to L’Oréal Paris Men Expert, a portfolio of skincare products designed to deliver an instant energy boost and set men up for success. Joining forces with The Chiefs is a testimony of building brands together & providing value for our fans and consumers.”

Chiefs Esports Club also has commercial partnerships in place with AOC, Bond University, HyperX, Marvel, Menulog, Mwave Australia, and Red Bull. 

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AYO.NEWS says:

Skincare isn’t exactly the first thing that springs to mind when it comes to esports teams, but L’Oreal Men Expert is no stranger to the sector, having previously sponsored China’s top League of Legends competition, the LPL – so it seems to be yet another brand that’s finding value in esports. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

Finnish esports organisation ENCE has extended its partnership with Swedish telecoms company Telia. 

The partnership, which dates back to 2017, has now been extended through 2022. Telia is also partnered with the Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC), which ENCE has entered. ENCE also competes in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, StarCraft II. 

Commenting on the collaboration, CEO of ENCE, Mika Kuusisto, said:

“Telia is one of the most long standing partners of ENCE, who have had a significant role in molding a Finnish success story towards global heights, but also bringing gaming culture in Finland forward in huge leaps. Signing a two-year continuation is a great milestone, which helps grow ENCE today and tomorrow in an always evolving esports industry.”

While Commercial Manager for Esports at Telia, Niklas Segercrantz, added:

“We at Telia have wanted to be a part of building the Finnish competitive gaming culture from the very beginning and to enable Finland’s best in “Rise to the top” spirit. It has been our pleasure to follow ENCE’s rise ever since the beginning of our partnership. Continuing together felt natural, we feel that together we can bring gaming to an even wider audience.”

ENCE also has commercial partnerships in place with ASUS, Bitfactor, Jimm’s, Logitech G, NitroCasino, noblechairs, and Red Bull. 

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s hardly the most surprising news, but it’s always great to see partnerships extended like this, and speaks volumes about its success so far. 

Staying with Telia, last week the company’s Esports Series tournament platform was confirmed as organiser of eFutisliiga – the new official efootball league from Veikkausligga. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020

UK Federal Credit Union has entered a 13-year naming rights deal with the University of Kentucky, covering its under-construction esports complex. 

The partnership, which was facilitated by JMI Sports, will see the venue named the “UK Federal Credit Union Esports Lounge and Theater.” JMI Sports will also control the media rights included in the partnership deal. 

Discussing the deal President and CEO of the UKFCU, David Kennedy, said:

“We are very excited to be the official sponsor of the Esports Lounge at the University of Kentucky. The investment our credit union is making in UK’s new esports program represents our commitment to innovate and cultivate new technologies and ideas for a large group of students.

“While typical sports teams are limited to a smaller population of the student body, we view esports as an opportunity for all students to participate. UKFCU is proud to have served the UK community for 83 years and we are excited to grow our relationship for the next generation.”

The University’s esports facilities are located in ‘The Cornerstone.’ Currently under redevelopment, the complex will feature 900 parking spaces and a 23,000 sq ft ground floor featuring retail space, dining area, 100-seat theatre, innovation center, and the esports centre. It is slated to be completed in Autumn 2020. 

Since October 2019, the University of Kentucky has also been collaborating with Gen.G Esports, again facilitated through JMI Sports. 

AYO.NEWS says:

We’re seeing educational institutions across America starting to invest heavily in esports facilities, which makes a lot of sense considering the importance of collegiate sports in the US – in commercial and social terms. Of course, having world-class esports and gaming facilities also enables universities to offer a range of cutting-edge courses, which are in increasing demand.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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Finland is the latest nation to get an official top-tier efootball league, with the launch of eFutisliiga. 

Launched by Veikkausliiga, the top division of Finnish professional football, in partnership with PlayStation, eFutisliiga will be organised by local esports tournament platform Telia Esports Series. The action is scheduled to kick off in autumn 2020. 

Discussing the new league Commercial Development Director at Veikkausliiga, Ville-Mikko Korkka, said:

“What we learned during the pandemic is that not even established sport leagues like us can take their future for granted and there is always room to grow and innovate. For long we have followed the development of esports around the world as bystanders but not anymore. We could not be more excited about claiming this new territory.”

While General Manager of Nordic PlayStation, Suman Rath, added:

“PlayStation has been supporting Finnish amateur and semi-professional gaming tournaments for years, but with Telia and Veikkausliiga we can take a new step towards consolidating e-sports in Finland and PlayStation’s position at the heart of competitive gaming.”

AYO.NEWS says:

The COVID-19 crisis really has been a wakeup call for traditional sports leagues around the world. From football and NASCAR, to professional tennis and golf, over the past few months we’ve seen an avalanche of new simulation sports competitions launched. 

Only yesterday we reported the Malaysian Football League had launched a new esports league, the eMFL, in partnership with EA SPORTS. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020