Franchise Fees for Overwatch eSports Teams Could Soar
*By Christian Smith*
Franchise fees to get into season three of the Overwatch League could reach $100 million dollars for investors that don't make the cut for season two.
That's according to eSports expert Rod Breslau, better known as "Slasher" in the gaming community.
"There is a fear of missing out," Breslau said in an interview Friday with Cheddar. "So I think a lot of these big brands and sports teams in North America and in Europe are going to want to get in now."
The 12 teams that played in the inaugural season, which kicked off last December, only had to pay $20 million to Activision Blizzard, the company that created Overwatch.
But the cost of entry for *new teams* has spiked along with interest in the game. Overwatch League averages 80,000 to 170,000 concurrent viewers on streaming platform Twitch, and it's brought in $150 million in sponsorship and broadcasting rights deals.
[ESPN first reported](http://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/23464637/overwatch-league-expansion-slots-expected-30-60-million) that new teams will have to pay between $30 and $60 million in fees for season two, numbers Breslau says his sources confirmed.
The Overwatch League announced on Wednesday that it will host the debut season's Grand Finals at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY from July 27-28.
Some serious cash is on the line at the championship event. The winning team will receive a $1 million bonus - with nine to 12 players on each team, that works out to a haul of upwards of $100,000 each, in one weekend. The runner-up gets a cash boost of $400,000, and the third and fourth place teams will each haul in an extra $100,000.
For anyone new to the world of eSports, Overwatch is a first-person shooter game that was released on May 24, 2016 by Blizzard Entertainment, the same company behind the popular World of Warcraft franchise. Two teams of six players face off in a robot-filled, near-future Earth. Overwatch League teams are allowed to have six additional players that can be swapped between matches.
The Overwatch League is currently comprised of 12 teams - nine American ones (Boston, Dallas, Florida, Houston, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and two from Los Angeles) and three international (London, Seoul, and Shanghai). Teams are split between the Atlantic and Pacific divisions. Players make a minimum base salary of $50,000, receive housing during the season, healthcare coverage, and a retirement savings plan according to the [Overwatch League's website](https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/about).
The top six teams this season will go head-to-head in the Grand Finals at the Barclays Center. Breslau says he's confident that New York's team will bring home the first-ever Overwatch League trophy.
"New York Excel champions season one, no problem. They're going to beat, I would say, the London team in the finals," Breslau said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/barclays-center-to-host-first-ever-overwatch-league-grand-finals).
In recent years, extreme weather events like flooding and wildfires have become more frequent, and more severe - and scientists say global warming is to blame. Climate crises could leave people in need of help, and that's where Global Rescue steps in. The crisis response firm employs former Navy Seals and Army Rangers to rescue travelers from climate-related emergencies. Global Rescue CEO Dan Richards joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
Cloud-based AI-powered writing assistant Grammarly recently raised $200 million in a funding round that values the company at $13 billion. The funding will be used to help Grammarly achieve its goal of becoming more ubiquitous, as the company says it wants to be the go-to writing assistant for wherever people type. Grammarly also says it aims to solve what it calls one of the most critical problems facing people and businesses today -- ineffective communication. Grammarly global head of product Rahul Roy-Chowdhury joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The Competition and Markets Authority in the UK moved to block Facebook parent company Meta from acquiring the image sharing platform Giphy after saying advertisers and consumers would be adversely impacted. Hatem Dhiab, managing partner at Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment, joined Cheddar to break down the decision and noted that the CMA's order could also halt other big tech firms from making similar purchases in the future. "I think this is going to be true for Facebook, it's going to happen for other big tech companies — Amazon, perhaps Google, so it's interesting that the UK is starting this wave," he said.
Namita Dhallan, Chief Product Officer at Brightcove, joins Cheddar to discuss how artificial intelligence and machine learning are creating room for more personalization in video, and how these technologies are shaping the future of the video tech industry.
NASA indefinitely delayed a spacewalk to repair an ISS antenna, citing concerns about space debris. It was unclear if the warning from the space agency to astronauts aboard the ISS was related to the recent destruction of a non-functioning Russian satellite.
Jack Dorsey has officially stepped down as CEO of Twitter.
In a statement -- he says he is leaving because the company is ready to move on from its founders. Tom Morton, Global Chief Strategy Officer, R/GA joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the implications of the move.
Mike Proulx, VP and research director at Forrester, joined Cheddar to talk about what Jack Dorsey's departure from Twitter as CEO means for the social media platform. He noted that while Dorsey had been the face of the company, "he's been a part-time CEO" since also taking on the leadership position at Square. Stepping down from leading Twitter allows his replacement Parag Agrawal, the former CTO, to be a dedicated leader of the company. However, Proulx noted that Agrawal faces headwinds on policy and political ramifications that will come with the job.
