Competitive gaming and esports are taking the country by storm, and corporate America is paying attention. One of the two teams that will compete this weekend in the Overwatch Grand Finals at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center is largely owned by the media giant Comcast.
And the reason is pretty simple, says Joe Marsh, CFO of the Philadelphia Fusion. “It’s about reaching the demographic that’s unreachable,” he said in an interview with Cheddar on Thursday. “A lot of the demo has ad blockers up and you’re not able to reach them.
“To be able to actively invest in something they’re actually seeking out and watching on Twitch and other streaming services and now to be transitioning that to linear TV with the ESPN deal, they just realize it’s a good area to target a new demographic of consumers that they’re going to guide through the next 50 years.”
The Philadelphia Fusion is something of a Cinderella team in the Overwatch League postseason. They entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed but upset No. 3 seed Boston in the quarterfinals and then the No. 1 seed New York Excelsior in the semis.
Tucker Roberts, president of the Fusion, said it was “unbelievable that our team got this far, given that a lot of analysts pegged us to finish eighth and not even make the playoffs.”
The Overwatch League is only in its first year; yet the enormous popularity of the game is bringing 20,000 spectators to the Barclays Center on Friday and Saturday. With that exploding popularity, Roberts sees a strong future for eSports.
“It’s a global sport,” he said. “It’s not like it’s a regional thing. It’s 40 million players from every single country you can think of.”
For full interview, [click here] (https://cms.cheddar.com/videos/VmlkZW8tMjEyMTg=).
Millions of people around the world are getting ready for the Super Bowl on Sunday. And while the day is all fun and games, there's still a serious discussion happening about player safety. Now, two leading sports brands have teamed up to design new, state-of-the-art equipment using 3D printing. Joe DeSimone, co-founder and CEO of Carbon, stopped by Cheddar with more on how technology is making football more safe, head to toe.
Luke Wilson is taking a short break from Hollywood. A commercial break. The "Rushmore" and "Old School" actor is starring in his first Super Bowl commercial, and he says the 30-second Colgate spot will probably get more views than any of his movies. "I think more people will see this than any movie I've ever been in for sure," Wilson told Cheddar on Friday.
Draftkings CEO Jason Robins told Cheddar that New Jersey residents alone could wager as much as $100 million on the Super Bowl, the first time sports betting will be legal there for the big game.
Although it has 3 million customers, home security company SimpliSafe isn’t a household name yet. It’s hoping that will change on Sunday after its first Super Bowl ad airs.“In a market where people are trying to lock you in a contract or harvest your data, we’re trying to keep you safe,” brand creative director Wade Devers told Cheddar. “There aren’t really a lot of places you can reach the number of people you can reach like the Super Bowl.”
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Feb. 1, 2019.
On Super Bowl Sunday, the Hallmark Channel will be home to the sixth annual Kitten Bowl, the annual matchup of cat-letes held to benefit the North Shore Animal League. Beth Stern, host of the Kitten Bowl and spokesperson for North Shore (and wife to Howard), brought a pair of 12-week Siamese kittens to Cheddar Thursday to help promote a new event this year: the first-ever Cat Bowl.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019.
Super Bowl Sunday is the ー well ー Super Bowl of building brand awareness, particularly for food and beverage companies. This year, Pepsi and Frito-Lay, both units of PepsiCO ($PEP), are once again among the snack giants planning to use the 100 million-plus members of the expected television audience to launch new products and elevate brands in their respective portfolios. Frito-Lay CMO Jen Saenz spoke to Cheddar Tuesday alongside Greg Lyons, the CMO for Pepsi, which is known for its Super Bowl ads and social media engagement tied to the Big Game.
Apple is planning a subscription service that would function like Netflix for games, according to people familiar with the matter. The iPhone maker has also discussed partnering with developers as a publisher, which could signal ambitions to assume distribution and marketing costs for games.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019.
