Not to brag or anything, but I think that I was a little ahead of the game in predicting the rapid rise of the video gaming industry as a sport (for past video gaming posts, check out the Video Gamers archive).
Anyway, the fad sport keeps growing. On November 11, 2006, the USA Network decided to air the MLG (Major League Gaming) [Don’t Hate The Player, Hate The Gamer]. It must have done well, because on June 19, 2007, the MLG announced that it will be expanding to Canada and is under license by Toronto-based Insight Sports [Major League Gaming Expands Into Canada]. Expansion in the MLG alone should show promise for video gamers, but it gets even better.
DirecTV has now decided to enter the mix and develop its own league called the Championship Gaming Series [Is pro gaming the next poker?]. Has DirecTV figured out how to make pro gaming entertaining for viewers – gamers and non-gamers? Only time will tell. But if you are looking at trends and you want to venture into an industry before its potential boom, now may be the time to look into representing the next big video gamer. Here is something to mull over:
DirecTV is betting big money on this league. Salaries and bonuses for the 2007 season will total $5 million, a new benchmark for professional gaming. Rather than offering cash and prizes for individual contests, CGS will operate like a pro sports league. Every drafted player and each general manager will receive a salary with additional bonuses for performances. Reif said the base salaries will be higher than minor-league pro baseball players and winning players can clear six figures in 2007.
So I ask the same question that I asked on January 25, 2006: Representation of “Cyber Athletes”? I think that Dynasty Athlete Representation would have no qualms about representing a top gamer!
-Darren Heitner
5 replies on “DirecTV Trying To Get Into The Game”
So, will we be seeing DGR (Dynasty Gamer Representation) sometime in the future? 😉
On a more serious note, many young, aspiring agents think of clients merely in terms of the four major sports (football, basketball, baseball, hockey), but looking closer there are a ton of other areas of opportunity. Soccer and Golf being the most obvious, but also: boxers, arena league footballers, extreme sports athletes (think X-Games; snowboarders, bmx riders, wakeboarders, etc), olympic athletes, billiards players, poker players, and now even video gamers (and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few more).
Tennis is a big one too. Gamers will be a decent sized industry I am sure. Think about Japan, where some of their biggest celebrities come in the form of gamers. Gamers in Japan make 6-7 figures easily. I don’t know what the equivalent of say Nike sponsoring a pro-athlete would be for a gamer, but I’m sure there is something out there for them. There is always money to be thrown around.
Tennis! Yes, I knew I forgot probably something glaringly obvious. Another couple I missed the first time are volleyball players and MMA/UFC fighters.
That is interesting, I guess you have to do things like this when times and competition are tough…
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