10/06/22: GAMURS big move; DreamHack’s Atlanta plans; Fandom gets huge
  Thursday October 6, 2022Good morning! It’s Thursday and this is your early morning Esports brief.  Yesterday saw more big news from GAMURS, the gaming, esports, and entertainment media network, which announced a $12M Series A round to expand on growth model. The raise was co-led by Elysian Park Ventures, the private investment arm affiliated with the ownership group of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cerro Capital, a specialized growth capital fund that invests in the future of sports. Earlier in the week, GAMURS unveiled that it acquired six digital esports and gaming news publications to add under its umbrella, in Destructoid; Escapist Magazine; PC Invasion; Upcomer; Siliconera; Operation Sports and several strategic and related social assets. The acquired brands will bring GAMURS’ total audience to approximately 55 million monthly users. “As a long-term, avid reader of these publications, I have been following their progress for some time,” said Riad Chikhani, Founder and CEO of GAMURS. “This acquisition is not only of strategic significance for the company, but given my affinity for the brands, it gives me a lot of satisfaction to bring such well-respected news websites into the GAMURS Group portfolio.” COMPETITION Finally, DreamHack returns to Atlanta. The three-day, immersive, gaming lifestyle festival unveiled plans to return to the city for the first time since the pandemic, running Nov. 18-20 at the Georgia World Congress Center. The event will add several esports tournaments that include: a $100,000 Fortnite Competition; a $100,000 Starcraft II Masters; a prize pool of more than $35,000 for Bring-Your-Own-Computer (BYOC) tournaments; and a prize pool of more than $25,000 across nine Fighting Games tournaments Ubisoft revealed that the last Six Major of the season will take place in Jönköping, Sweden, from Nov. 21-27 at DreamHack Winter. To celebrate the Six Jönköping Major, a special Hibana bundle is available for purchase in the Esports page of the in-game store. 20% of the revenue from this set will directly contribute to the prize pool of the competition. Riot Games is teaming with Lexis Partners to present the 2022 League Of Legends World Championship Final (Worlds) on Nov. 5, as a live special event in movie theaters around the world. Fans will see the event broadcast live from Chase Center in San Francisco to movie theaters across North America, Latin America, South America, Australia, Brazil, Europe, India, Korea, and Turkey. The Opening Ceremony Presented by Mastercard, which will feature music icon Lil Nas X performing the Worlds 2022 anthem “STAR WALKIN,” will begin at 7p ET. VALORANT Champions 2022 laid claim to the most viewed event in September,according to Esports Charts. The apex of the season peaked with over 1.5 million concurrent viewers during the period. Rounding out the top five were the MPL Indonesia Season 10 at 1.37 million, Worlds 2022, with 1.11u8 million, LEC Summer 2022 at almost 733K and MPL Philippines Season 10 at nearly 500K. Motorsport Games revealed the entry list for the second round of the 2022-23 Le Mans Virtual Series, 4 Hours of Monza. Names such as 2021 ELMS champion Yifei Yi, Mexican motorsport legend Luis Diaz and Porsche factory driver Ayhancan Güven will be racing alongside top esports players. The race will take place on the rFactor2 platform at the virtual Autodromo Nazionale Monza on Oct. 8. Stride is partnering with esports tournament platform provider Practice Serverto deliver a new season of fall tournament play for young competitors across the country. Tournaments will invite gamers of all levels to connect and compete in multiple titles in the coming months, including Minecraft Build Challenges for 8- to 18-year-olds, and for gamers aged 13 and older, tournaments in Fortnite Duos, Rocket League, and Fall Guys as well as Discord Community Hangout Nights .  EBS 2022 (Nov. 1-3, click herefor tickets!) EBS is thrilled to announce that Rachel ‘Seltzer’ Quirico will return as this year’s host of the Tempest Awards on Nov. 2! Finalists for this year’s honors have been notified and an official announcement will be revealed on Tuesday. Good luck! The bevy of amazing names heading to EBS continues to grow. Our newest highlight will bring Fandom to Las Vegas as the company continues to shore up its global pull. (See story below.) Already ranking as the top fan platform in the world, pre-acquisition with the platform reaching more than 300 million unique visitors per month, the company has plans to dive deeper into gamer and esports culture with its new titles. Now Fandom’s Chief Business Officer Michael Chiang will give EBS attendees a keynote presentation on the company’s deep and insightful State of Gaming report. Not to be missed! In addition, join us for a look at the future of esports when BLAST Managing Director Leo Matlock delivers a keynote about how the company is generating esports activity across multiple games, how the esports industry will evolve and what role tournament organizers/leagues will play in a shifting landscape. STREAMHATCHET  The Valorant Champions Tour, which wrapped up in September, had a big effect on the top esports organizations in live streaming last month. Valorant Champions garnered just under 56 million hours watched in September. The championship match between LOUD and OpTic Gaming reached an average minute audience of 1.3 million viewers. This was LOUD’s first VCT win, the first ever for a Brazilian team. In fact, no VALORANT team has ever won an international event multiple times. LOUD’s rivalry with North American team OpTic came to a head during the championship, which went 3-1. The championship match and the two teams’ long run through the VCT had much to do with their high viewership for the month and their inclusion in the top ten leaderboard. DRX, the South Korean team that took third place in the VCT, was also featured in the top ten esports org leaderboard this month. In addition to the two VCT finalists, DRX has some of the lowest percentage of their hours watched coming from content creators, signaling more of a focus on their esports rosters for live streaming viewership. Read more on Stream Hatchet’s blog.  SPONSORSHIP & ACTIVATION essence makeup is making its debut in the gaming space, lining up its first activation on Twitch, joining forces with strategic marketing agency Ader and Twitch streamer and creator Emiru to host a namesake cosplay contest that will stream live on the platform on Oct. 25. The contest will feature categories of different cosplays in which fans submit their photos via Reddit and are judged by Emiru and a panel of other top Twitch streamers for a chance to win $30,000 in prizes. Jack in the Box, in partnership with ZONED Gaming, is launching a search for Gamer Jack, an initiative to find and “hire” an up-and-coming content creator to grow the brand within the gaming space. Gamer Jack will serve as the restaurant chain’s first-ever full-time Twitch Creator and will look to foster a Jack in the Box community online. The campaign to find Gamer Jack runs through Oct. 10. Thorne HealthTech inked a deal to become the official Health and Wellness Partner of Team Liquid. Thorne will offer “pathways for personalized health and wellness through quizzes, health tests, and nutritional supplements to support the Team Liquid community.” Thorne will also elevate notable Team Liquid influencers – AverageJonas, Tiffae, Alixxa, and Acie – as brand ambassadors. To support breast cancer awareness month, TSM is partnering with the National Breast Cancer Foundation. For the month of October, a limited pink version of the 2022 TSM FTX player jersey will be available for purchase with all profits donated to NBCF. In addition to the pink jerseys, TSM will also host a variety of Twitch charity streams featuring players and streamers to support the cause. The American Video Game League and Barnes & Noble College are teaming with HI-CHEW to launch their third annual Autumn Anarchy event this month – one of the largest Fortnite competitive events for college gamers, with students from 400+ campuses competing to win $35k in prizing, plus the chance to compete with some of the biggest influencers in gaming in the tournament’s Code Red event. Psyonix and San Diego Loyal’s partnership is expanding with the release of all-new SD Loyal in-game content in Rocket League. The new content now live in the Item Shop includes Octane Decals based on SD Loyal’s 2022 kits, including a brand new Rocket League X San Diego Loyal Special Edition Kit designed by CHARLY Futbol.2022 Model D & It List Awards Mark your calendars for November 17th! Dimmed lights, shining stage, all eyes on you. Model D & It List Awards spotlights those at the forefront of the industry, making major contributions to branded content, technology, ad campaigns, and original content. These honorees are the captains of industry, the shakers and movers driving decisions, and shaping the future of the digital content industry. Interested in attending? Keep an eye out for registration. LEARN MORE NOW IT’S ALIVE!: YouGov Living Data Insights  TEAMS  Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, founder and CEO of 100 Thieves, introduced Juvee, a new rejuvenating energy drink “formulated to boost your energy, increase your focus and improve your overall well-being so you’re inspired to add more play to your every day.” The product will debut wit three flavors: Kiwi Strawberry, Watermelon Lime, and Tropical Crush. “We’ve created a new energy drink that was built completely on our terms and catered to our community’s lifestyle and interests, which are all centered around the joy of ‘play,’” said Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, founder of Juvee and founder & CEO of 100 Thieves. “Launching Juvee is a lifelong dream of mine that I know will enhance the experience of not only our world-class gaming creators and competitors, but anyone who’s passionate about having more energy to do the things they love.” Gen.G named Korean American record producer, singer-songwriter, recording artist and entrepreneur, Jay Park, as the org’s Executive Music and Entertainment Advisor to help Gen.G “build the bridge between the Korean music community and gaming.” Jay will be the executive producer for music and content that showcases top moments for the team and the organization, starting with Gen.G’s entrance into the League of Legends World Championship 2022 with Mirani and GEMINI’s new song “Rollin’,” produced by GroovyRoom, advised by Jay Park. Paril will also focus on bringing in different music artists to collaborate with the organization. RESPAWN and FaZe Clan revealed their RESPAWN FLEXX FaZe Clan Edition and RESPAWN 110 FaZe Clan Edition gaming chairs. “It was critical for this collaboration to be a natural convergence of our brand strengths,” said Peter Scheidler, RESPAWN VP of Product & Merchandising. “We combined our 75 years of expertise in ergonomic seating design and a passion for all things gaming with FaZe Clan’s smart and subtle approach to their brand identity to do something we’ve never done before.”  REV/XP Presents… Jason Scorrano of RTSClick here to watch this week’s interview or visit esportsbizsummit.com. PLATFORMS & WEB3  Fandom acquired a portfolio of entertainment and gaming brands from Red Ventures – GameSpot, Metacritic, TV Guide, GameFAQs, Giant Bomb, Cord Cutters News and Comic Vine. By combining Fandom’s 300M MAU’s, 250K Wiki communities and 40M pages of content with these widely recognized gaming, movie and TV brands reaching 46M MAU’s, Fandom extends its strategic mission to be the fan’s first choice for community and experience. Financials of the deal were not disclosed. “We’re thrilled to add these powerful, authoritative brands into the Fandom platform, which will expand our business capabilities and provide immersive content for our partners, advertisers and fans. The trusted insights, ratings and content they provide will make us a one-stop shop for fans across their entertainment and gaming journey,” said Perkins Miller, CEO of Fandom. “In addition to creating exceptional fan experiences, these platforms will add to our FanDNA data offering, giving us sentiment and intent signals that will help improve the consumer experience as well as make our commerce and advertising businesses more impactful.” READYUP WHAT TO WATCH  2022 Best of the Best Check out our newly launched website! We’re thrilled to announce the Best of the Best site has officially launched! Best of the Best recognizes outstanding achievement and excellence in national TV programming, marketing campaigns, people, tech, and more. The first entry deadline is October 31st, with categories including “Best News Program” “Best Social Media Campaign,” and “Best AVOD Services.” Enter now for the chance at well-deserved recognition and extra bragging rights! ENTER NOW  TRIVIA What are the three rules for taking care of a mogwai (from Gremlins)? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city). Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: Which classic horror film features a serial killer wearing a William Shatner mask? Answer: Halloween. Kudos: Phyllis McQuillan-MSG Networks/NY; Sean Devlin-Netflix/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG•AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank Cynopsis TeamChris Pursell @VegasandVineKerry Smith Division President Access Intelligence Robbie Caploe VP/Group Publisher @robertacaploeExecutive Director of Sales Albert Nassour 917-545-3129Cynopsis Job Listings Sales John CoxCYNOPSISJOBS Check out more jobs in Cynopsis Classifieds » JOB OF THE DAY PROGRAM MANAGER, NEWS >> SPECTRUM NETWORKS/NYC: Develops the OKR program strategy, supporting business case and various high-level program plans. Also serve as a subject matter expert and mentor to educate and assist with implementing program processes and making improvement/changes to overall OKR program. Full info HERE (10/18) DIRECTOR of SALES >> NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP INC/SALT LAKE CITY: Provides leadership for the broadcast/web sales teams. Makes decisions regarding hiring, evaluation, promotion and termination of employees. Develops and executes sales strategies which result in exceeding revenue targets in local, national, eMedia and new product revenue and drives new business development. Min of 5 yrs exp. in media sales. Full info HERE (10/15) ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE DIRECT RESPONSE >> OPPORTUNITY MEDIA/NY(REMOTE/HYBRID): Seeking an energetic achiever with excellent written & organizational skills for role to assist in growing revenue for dynamic Direct Response Team: BA Degree, Min 2 yrs DR Experience req. Wide Orbit Exp a +. Full info HERE (10/14) SALES PLANNER >> REELZ/NY: Create/revise upfront/scatter media plans, account stewardship & serve as agency liaison. A min. 3 yrs ad sales/agency exp. Assist Account Executives and work closely with the Director of Inventory Control & SVP of Pricing & Planning. Strong written and verbal communication skills, strong media math skills. Proficient in Wide Orbit, MS Suite. Full info HERE (10/13) CONSUMER MARKETING COORDINATOR >> CRG/INDIAN LAND SC: Assists in the brainstorming of off-channel, trade, & paid film campaign creative needs to deliver against strategic goals & objectives & serve as main point of contact for marketing asset requests. Help Senior Director/Senior Manager with day-to-day communications with internal key stakeholders and external agency partners. 2+ yrs of related exp. Full info HERE (10/12) TRAFFIC MANAGER >> WHYY-PBS/PHILADELPHIA: Create monthly programming grids for 12.1 and 12.3. Update programming grids when schedule changes are made. Prepare daily logs and submit to Centralcast Joint Master Control (JMCO) per their log schedule, and work with WHYY Traffic Specialist. 3-5 years of management experience and working with data or traffic systems. Full info HERE (10/12) SENIOR MANAGER, METADATA OPERATIONS A+E NETWORKS NYC OR REMOTE Focuses on strategic planning of resources, developing/executing metadata & video delivery best practices & optimizing workflows. Lead a team to maintain an enterprise level standard of metadata support for XML partner publishing, industry standards compliance like EMA. 5+ yrs of exp. w/enterprise metadata taxonomy, metadata curation & operations. Full info HERE (10/11) GEN Z DIGITAL HOST/INFLUENCER/CONTENT CREATOR QURATE NYC Host for live shopping app. Passionate storytellers with a love for lifestyle products. Host is credible, warm & entertaining. Work up to two to three days a week in our NYC studio sharing & selling products to a Gen Z focused audience. Payment is a competitive day rate on a temporary to possible permanent basis. Full info HERE (10/11) MANAGER, DISTRIBUTION PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT A+E NETWORKS NYC/Remote Acts as key liaison with MVPDs to drive the value associated with A+E Networks’ VOD, TVE and other digital media products in the pay TV market. Coordinates delivery of content to clients, optimizes internal workflows, and monitors performance of content on clients’ sites/apps. Experience in project/product management within the TV/cable industry. Full info HERE (10/10) SENIOR SPECIALIST, ADVANCED ADVERTISING SOLUTIONS A+E NETWORKS NYC/Remote Assists with product development and specializing in quality control, user acceptance testing and optimization of advertising products across A+E Networks brands on web, mobile and OTT with a focus on new AVOD Platforms. Experience in Product Development, Revenue Management, Analytics in a media or ad tech organization. Full info HERE (10/10) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE >> THUNDER STUDIOS/LONG BEACH, CA: Superior knowledge of sales techniques including cold-calling, networking, lead generation, all with the ability to capture and close deals. Pursue new business while maintaining and growing existing client database. 3 or more years experience in sales, advertising, marketing, bidding for production jobs at any media related entity required. Full info HERE (10/10) MARKETING MANAGER LEGACY LIT >> HACHETTE BOOK GROUP/NYC: Work closely with authors and agents, as well as editorial and publicity, on about 12-15 book campaigns a year. Independently executes marketing campaigns for new hardcover titles from established and debut authors, optimizes campaigns for the paperback publications, and a keen eye for backlist opportunities. Prior marketing experience required. Full info HERE (10/9) JR. ANALYST, AUDIENCE RESEARCH FETV NYC Daily email sent to Executives outlining top program performances w/Households & Key Demos, with context. Daily update of excel based network programming grid. Develop a Weekly Schedule Analysis Report with insight into FETV schedule performance, with recommendations of possible changes. A strong understanding of Nielsen concepts & terminology req. Full info HERE (10/9) SALES DIRECTOR FETV NYC Develop sales strategies for new business development. Research emerging businesses to build a pipeline of potential new clients. Cultivate client relationships to bring to the network. Negotiate and close new business on behalf of FETV. Bachelor’s degree; 8+ years of television selling or related advertising sales experience. Full info HERE (10/9)OTHER JOBS OF INTEREST Lead by example – implement flows, screens, and widgets in-game when needed. UI Lead Toys for Bob Remote https://www.toysforbob.com/careers You will be responsible for building UX teams, co-dev connections and collaboration, leading the way in our AAA development initiatives. Lead UX Designer NetEase Inc. Remote https://www.neteasegames.com/careers/en/ Devote in enhancing invocation performance, ease of use, and compatibility of render pipeline. Principal Rendering Engineering NetEase Inc. Remote https://www.neteasegames.com/careers/en/ Creates clear and concise, visually oriented design materials that explain mechanics, systems, and features. Senior Designer Insomniac Games Remote https://insomniac.games/careers/ Assist in developing the vision, architectural design, and planning for Insomniac’s current and future gameplay systems. Lead Gameplay Programmer, Multiplayer Insomniac Games Remote https://insomniac.games/careers/ Design responsibilities include but are not limited to Enemy AI, combat behaviors, player weapons and tools, cover and melee-based mechanics. Lead Enemy Designer Crystal Dynamics Remote https://www.crystald.com/careers/ Design and collaborate with a team to integrate gameplay systems, focused on weapons/gadgets. Systems Designer Crystal Dynamics Remote https://www.crystald.com/careers/ Implement new core technologies necessary to realize the vision of our games. Senior Engine Programmer Retro Studios Austin TX https://careers.nintendo.com/retro-studios/ Create compelling environments with an emphasis on environmental storytelling. Senior Environment Artist Retro Studios Austin TX https://careers.nintendo.com/retro-studios/ Manage Application Support Specialists who are responsible for Tier 1 Support and User Access Management to Business Applications. Manager, IT Applications Support The Pokemon Company International Bellevue WA https://boards.greenhouse.io/pokemoncareers The Data Integration Analyst III will work closely with business stakeholders across several departments as well as Business Systems Analysts and external teams. Data Integration Analyst (EDI) The Pokemon Company International Bellevue WA https://boards.greenhouse.io/pokemoncareers Design, implement, debug and document new game systems and tools in C++. Game Programmer Petroglyph Games Las Vegas NV https://petroglyphgames.com/#careers Produce high-end visuals within memory constraints and performance guidelines. Senior Lighting Artist Toys for Bob Novato CA https://www.toysforbob.com/careers This leader will manage multiple strategic teams comprising members from the Los Angeles and European offices. Senior Director Marketing Square Enix Inc. El Segundo CA https://www.square-enix-games.com/en_US/careers Lead the development, planning and execution of product marketing plans across all major platforms and through all stages of the videogame lifecycle. Manager, Product Marketing Square Enix Inc. El Segundo CA https://www.square-enix-games.com/en_US/careers |
