January 27, 2017

eSports competitions are attracting bigger live and online audiences than many traditional sporting events. Much of the value is derived from advertising and sponsorship, which accounts for a large proportion of revenues and established brands are investing significantly in eSports. For example, as mentioned above, in the UK we have seen English Premier League clubs such as Manchester City and West Ham participate thanks to a shared demographic.

It is inevitable that, as the number of people following eSports reaches critical mass, a number of independent team brands will start to generate a high level of social media engagement and global recognition with their audiences. In that environment, eSports merchandising is likely to generate significant revenues if parallels with other sports are anything to go by. This is challenging given the current fragmented market and the slightly different characteristics of eSports, however, securing intellectual property rights early on will help major stakeholders establish their brands in an increasingly fast-moving environment.

Brand recognition will embed itself over time, and the key areas of activity are likely to be the development of national/regional leagues and other major events, teams and leading players. In particular, as fan loyalty grows, the demand for official team and player merchandise will increase. It will be important to ensure that the underlying intellectual property rights, including trade marks, have been secured.

If you are looking to invest in eSports or to take your eSports offering to the next level, it will be important to have a focussed intellectual property strategy in place to ensure that your brand is protected and rights can be licensed effectively. This will help you to capture as much value as possible.