12/23/21: Halo is golden in HCS bow; Hearthstone reshuffles; Arena of Valor opens doors
  Thursday December 23, 2021 Good morning! It’s Thursday and Esports Brief and last of the year! Happy Holidays!  The Halo Championship Series kicked off the title’s return to esports with viewership records, as the Raleigh event peaked with 267,000 viewers while averaging 113,000 viewers throughout three days of play, per Esports Charts. Those numbers are both good enough to top any previous event for the title. Overall, fans watched over 3.6 million hours across the weekend.With the Raleigh event in the books, 343 Studios and Microsoft are now looking to expand the HCS Team Partnership program. Halo Esports lead Tahir “Tashi” Hasandjekic tweeted that the Halo esports team at 343 will be looking to expand the Team Partnership program for the Halo Championship Series between February and April. Currently, there are nine esports organization officially partnered with HCS: Cloud9, Envy, eUnited, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, G2, Na’Vi, Sentinels, and Spacestation Gaming. COMPETITION  Blizzard Entertainment unlocked a new competitive foundation for Hearthstone in 2022, which will offer up a total prize pool of $3 million, along with an expanded World Championship. The roadmap will include two seasons in 2022, with Season 1 spanning Feb.-March, and divided into three regions (Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe). Season 2, meanwhile, will be titled Grandmasters: Last Call. The 2022 World Championship will then feature 16 players battling for a share of the $500,000 prize pool. Blizzard also unveiled the new Battlegrounds: Lobby Legends series, allowing top-ranked players from the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe and China to vie for a share of a $500,000.On the down side, the Hearthstone World Championship 2021, held purely online and featuring the top eight players, was down this year, peaking at 23,409 viewers, according to Esports Charts, and averaging 16,326 during its run. That was despite a prize pool of $500K, with the event down significantly from its peak last year of 89,246, while 2019 drew 276,206. ESL Gaming is partnering with Intel and DHL to launch a women’s CS:GO circuit, aiming to boost awareness, provide new opportunities, and improve the representation for all women CS:GO players. The CS:GO ecosystem for women offers $500,000 across regional leagues, standalone events at DreamHack festivals, and ESL Cash Cups. The new leagues feature eight teams in both Europe and North America and a total of $150,000 prize pool. The three best teams from both regions, together with a South American and an Asian-Pacific team coming from open qualifiers, participate in the Global League Finals at DreamHack Dallas (June 3-5, 2022) and DreamHack Winter (November 25-27, 2022). In addition, ESL Gaming committed to instituting a women players council that will aid in defining further details around the CS:GO ecosystem for women as well as a talent development program. The Call of Duty League mapped out plans to kick off their Vanguard circuit, with play set to include the introduction of Pro-Am and Warzone events as well as four regular-season Majors in 2022. OpTic Texas will play host to the first Major in early 2022. The eight-team Majors will consist of a new knockout bracket in which every squad will start in the winners bracket. The company will launch a Pro-Am midseason tournament with will run with Call of Duty: Warzone events throughout the season. The 2022 Call of Duty League regular season kicks off on Feb. 4. Arena of Valor is expanding its boundaries, announcing plans to broaden its esports infrastructure and bring the game to more regions. The AoV esports map will be split across five stages and include open-for-all amateur tournaments, regional cups, pro leagues, as well as the AIC and the World Cup. The AIC will be held in June with a prize pool of $2 million, while the AWC will take place in October. The Global Esports Federation unveiled the host nation for three additional iterations of the Global Esports Games with the lineup now locked in through 2026. Previously announced were Istanbul for 2022 and Riyadh for 2023. Now joining the lineup will be China in 2024, UAE in 2025, and the US in 2026. NBA 2K League detailed a lineup of tweaks for its 2022 season, including: a tournament-centric season structure; new 3v3 tournaments entitled by Coinbase; a significantly higher total prize pool; and amateur teams vs. NBA 2K League teams in the Coinbase 3v3 tournaments. The League’s existing marquee 5v5 tournaments—The Banner Chain Powered by AT&T (The Tipoff, The Turn and The Ticket) and the NBA 2K League Playoffs and Finals—will continue as the key components of the League’s standard 5v5 competition. In addition to the League’s standard 5v5 competition, the League is partnering with Coinbase to host three new 3v3 tournaments, and a culminating 3v3 championship. The eNASCAR International iRacing Series is expanding to a five-race schedule with new partners D-BOX Technologies and Digital Motorsports joining the series in 2022. The D-BOX eNASCAR International iRacing Series presented by Digital Motorsports will visit virtual tracks in the United States, Canada and Belgium, beginning at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Jan. 8. Drivers will compete via iRacing.com with the field will containing an even mix of drivers from the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, NASCAR Peak Mexico Series, NASCAR Pinty’s Series, and select drivers from NASCAR’s 2022 Drive for Diversity class. Meanwhile, Allied Esports announced that the Allied Esports Truck, North America’s first and only 18-wheel mobile gaming truck, is set to appear at the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 86th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Dec. 31 at AT&T Stadium. The special eNASCAR Arcade activation with Goodyear will provide attendees with a racing experience as fans get the chance to race each other at some of NASCAR’s most iconic tracks via iRacing simulators on the truck’s main stage. SPONSORSHIP & ACTIVATION  Immortals appointed global sports marketing agency SPORTFIVE as its exclusive global commercial sales agency, which will now work across Immortals’ esports and gaming portfolio, focusing on revenue generation, business development, sponsorship integration, and partnership development. SPORTFIVE will support the commercial development of Immortals’ esports teams across the League of Legends Championship Series, Valorant, and Wild Rift. Additionally, SPORTFIVE will be tasked with seeking out brand partners to integrate into the organization’s owned and operated channels of original content on its YouTube, Twitter, Instagram.PLATFORMS PlayVS is pulling back from the collegiate esports scene, making an announcement that the organization would “pause” its collegiate leagues. In addition, the company is also halting its youth leagues. In the announcement, PlayVS stated that “We realize now that the best path towards accomplishing that vision is through our High School product. As a company, our focus has always been on providing the best competitive opportunity for high school students. We firmly believe that by building a strong foundation in high school, we will be able to provide the most benefits for the esports and collegiate ecosystem as a whole.” LiveXLive, a global platform for livestream and on-demand audio, video and podcast/vodcast content in music, comedy and pop culture, is teaming with Super League Gaming to create experiences within the metaverse tied to LiveOne’s music, lifestyle and pay-per-views in events. The two companies plan to offer fans and gamers opportunities to enjoy immersive 3D environments featuring exclusive content, unique virtual goods, NFTs, and gamified activities that drive increased affinity and socially-connected engagement. HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM CYNOPSIS We wish you a wonderful and safe holiday and Happy New Year! We look forward to welcoming you to one of our 2022 virtual or in person events. Stay tuned for updates on upcoming programs including Best of the Best & Rising Star Awards (February), Measurement and Data Conference (June), Top Women in Media (October) and Digital Model D + It List (November). VIEW THIS YEAR’S BOB FINALISTS TEAMS  A recent study from YouGov noted that American boys aged 13-17 are gravitating toward esports teams as their new fandom anchors, with three out of the top five teams with the most support from the demo being esports teams. FaZe Clan hit the rankings at number one at 22%, with 100 Thieves (11%) and NRG (10%) coming in fourth and fifth respectively, behind only the NBA’s Lakers and Warriors on the list. Meanwhile, Cloud9 also made the top ten, tied with the Patriots and Yankees with 8% of respondents considering themselves fans. The report suggests that one important factor in this shift could be the nature of how the content is delivered. INDUSTRY  Electronic Arts 2021: Year In Gaming detailed how the publisher’s global community played, including player habits, favorite teams and characters, and how they engaged. The year saw the Electronic Arts global player community grew even larger. Out of the millions of new people to join our player community this year, the majority were from Europe (30%), followed by the United States (25%), Asia Pacific (22.5%), and South and Latin America (15.7%). With more than 500 million players around the world, the biggest games globally were Apex Legends and EA SPORTS FIFA. As one of the most played franchises, Apex Legends players placed more than 322 billion Pings, took more than 24 billion ziplines and used 12 billion jump pads. In FIFA 21, players around the world took to the virtual pitch to score more than 22 billion goals. ROSTER MOVES  Evolution Championship Series appointed Rick “TheHadou” Thiher as the org’s new General Manager for the world’s largest fighting game event. Thiher will be charged with overseeing the overall strategic vision and direction for the event as well as the day-to-day operations. He will also continue as Event Director for Combo Breaker.Evil Geniuses announced that former WarnerMedia executive Krystal Hauserman has joined the company as Vice President and Global Head of Marketing. As the global head of marketing, Hauserman will leverage her expertise in the entertainment industry, including prominent roles at WarnerMedia and Fullscreen, to build on EG’s 20-year legacy as the company defines what it means to be a gaming organization in 2022 and beyond. HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM CYNOPSIS We wish you a wonderful and safe holiday and Happy New Year! We look forward to welcoming you to one of our 2022 virtual or in person events. Stay tuned for updates on upcoming programs including Best of the Best & Rising Star Awards (February), Measurement and Data Conference (June), Top Women in Media (October) and Digital Model D + It List (November). VIEW THIS YEAR’S BOB FINALISTS ON THIS DAY in Sonic the Hedgehog typically sports what color shoes? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city). Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question In which entertainment/gaming franchise would you fly in a starship marked NCC-1701? Answer: Star Trek. Kudos: Mike Lu-Spectrum Reach/NY; Matt Sautter-WideOrbit/Harrisburg; Jim Snider-jVISION/Toronto; Kobe Yashi Maru-WMS/Atlanta; Andy Babb-Super League Gaming/Santa Monica; David Westberg-SAG•AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo Cynopsis Team Chris Pursell @VegasandVine Kerry Smith Division President Access Intelligence Roberta Caploe VP/Group Publisher @robertacaploe Executive Director of Sales Albert Nassour 917-545-3129 Cynopsis Job Listings Sales John Cox CynopsisJobs Check out more jobs in Cynopsis Classifieds » Job of the day BRAND DIRECTOR, FailArmy JUKIN MEDIA LOS ANGELES Help set strategy for and execute business plan for your brand, define and manage brand voice and tone and hire, train, manage and develop team. Formulate and execute audience growth plan. 8+ yrs in the marketing and packaging of digital video brands, with success in content creation, content and performance marketing, distribution, and management. Full info HERE (1/16) MANAGER, AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS, SOCIAL JUKIN MEDIA LOS ANGELES Manage audience development and content strategy. Analyze the performance of all published content, including views, watch time, etc., and establish effective feedback loops with team members. Define and implement best practices for social media channel optimization. 4+ yrs work experience with 2+ yrs in programming and/or audience development. Full info HERE (1/16) SENIOR DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION RISK MANAGEMENT A+E NETWORKS LOS ANGELES or REMOTE Involves evaluating and advising exposures, confirming coverage, and reviewing contractual insurance requirements to manage production related risk. 5 years in high-risk production, extensive knowledge of prod. safety practices, Covid-19 safety, prod. claims and GL & E&O process/renewals. Full info HERE (1/15) DIRECTOR, FINISHED PROGRAM ACQUISITIONS AND DISTRIBUTION, STREAMING TV JUKIN MEDIA LOS ANGELES Source and identify finished TV program and digital series acquisitions for Streaming FAST Channels. License our TMB/Jukin original Streaming Channel productions for distribution. This position is responsible for negotiating and closing both inbound and outbound deals. 7 yrs of relevant work experience required. Full info HERE (1/13) VP, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT JUKIN MEDIA NYC, LOS ANGELES Lead Business Development efforts in the US and beyond. Source, negotiate and close distribution deals for brands like People Are Awesome, FailArmy, Pet Collective, etc. Develop business plans and drive growth around new businesses such as streaming channels, podcasts, self-service licensing platforms, etc. 7 yrs bus. development experience req. Full info HERE (1/13) PHOTO DIRECTOR DISCOVERY-MAGNOLIA NETWORK TX, TN, NY Experienced Photo Director 7+ Years experience. Excellent grasp of great visual communication and the ability to stretch creatively with each new project. Full info HERE (1/8) VIDEO EDITOR DISCOVERY-MAGNOLIA NETWORK TX, TN, NY Expert editor in Avid and Final Cut Pro Software, Premiere CC.Technical, organized, uber creative. 6+ yrs exp. Full info HERE (1/8) DESIGNER, BRAND CREATIVE DISCOVERY-MAGNOLIA NETWORK TX, TN, NY Excellent eye for great design and the ability to stretch creatively with each new project. 4+ years of graphic design experience, preferably within a TV network, studio or agency. Full info HERE (1/8) VP, DEVELOPMENT >> VICE TV/BROOKLYN, NY: Know our current slate of on-air series, series under consideration for renewal, projects in the development. Implement a strategic development process while bringing new pitches to larger network group for discussion. Oversee projects from initial inception through production. Proven relationships with producers and production companies req. Full info HERE (1/8) DIRECTOR SALES RESEARCH CW NYC, NY Develop/execute linear, digital and VOD metrics into cross platform measurement system for companywide use. Work on upfront strategy and ongoing client presentations. Liaison with vendors on new product testing/rollouts. Manage team of 3. 6+ yrs national experience. Strong excel, Nielsen, ComScore, Rentrak, MRI. Full info HERE (1/7) COORDINATOR, AD SALES TV ONE NYC, NY Fulfill sales orders through the execution of specific allocations and flowcharts. Serve as the primary point of contact for ad agencies to resolve discrepancies, schedule changes and facilitate make goods. Create flowcharts, input advertiser schedules and revisions. Bachelor’s degree and 2 years of experience in advertising sales. Full Info HERE (1/6) SENIOR SALES ENGINEER INTERNATINAL WIDEORBIT NYC, NY Focus on our international business with a range of WideOrbit products and core WO OMNI solution. 8+ years experience in Broadcast Media required, with a strong preference for applicants with WideOrbit product experience and a strong understanding of the international landscape Canada/Mexico/LATAM. Full info HERE (1/6) DATA VISUALIZATION MANAGER >> UP ENTERTAINMENT/ATLANTA GA: Design, build, deploy, and maintain reports and dashboards and preparing data for ingestion into visualization tools to create desired visualizations. Maintain research data systems and sources with regular downloads and ingestions. 5-7 years relevant work experience working with data, reporting insights, and managing projects. Full info HERE (1/6) MANAGER, AUDIENCE RESEARCH >> WARNER MEDIA/ATLANTA GA, BURBANK CA, NYC NY: Forecasting audiences across linear & digital platforms to drive billion-dollar ad revenue ratecard. Analyzing audience trends optimizing 24/7 programming schedules. Investigating competitive landscape for potential series & movie acquisitions; providing recommendations via detailed analysis & long-term audience projections. 5+ yrs of work exp. Full info HERE (1/5) SALES COORDINATOR >> MARATHON VENTURES /REMOTE/HYBRID/NY/NJ/CT: Team-oriented, fast-paced, innovative environment to provide clients with the highest level of service. Ability to shadow and train with new sales assistant hires. Monitor and assist account executives with accounts and performance of campaigns. Resolve billing discrepancies, and manage all billing processes both pre- and post-campaign. Full info HERE (1/5) SALES PLANNER >> MARATHON VENTURES /REMOTE/HYBRID/NY/NJ/CT: Committed to a remote/hybrid work model, Marathon Ventures Media Sales is looking for Sales Planners to work in a team-oriented, fast-paced, innovative environment to provide clients with the highest level of service. Sales Planners ensure the execution of all advertising schedules, partnering with sales teams and ad agencies. Full info HERE (1/5) SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST SALES CW NYC, NY Work primarily in the digital space but also Linear/VOD and Cross-platform. Develop/analyze metrics using syndicated & proprietary tools to show growth, trends and sales opportunities. 3+ yrs national experience. Strong excel, Nielsen, ComScore, Rentrak, MRI. Full info HERE (1/4) DIGITAL MEDIA ANALYTICS MANAGER >> REFUEL AGENCY/NYC: Responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting performance for multiple campaigns and clients. Improved campaign performance, quick response to client/sales requests and a willingness to adapt to the job role, driving results for our clients’ business. 3-5 years of professional experience in digital/marketing analytics required. Full info HERE (1/4) SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR, BRAND PARTNERSHIPS SALES >> attn:/NYC, CHICAGO: Deliver best-in-class work, manage the deal from initial outreach and creative prospecting, to negotiation, and to close on large scale, multi-platform branded partnerships. Ability to “think on your feet” by developing strategic integrated campaign across all native platforms. 10+ yrs leading digital or social content partnerships w/clients req. Full info HERE (1/4) ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, AD SALES >> FUSE MEDIA/NYC, NY: Generate profitable sales revenue while exceeding sales quotas and delivering a high level of customer service to media clients. Maintain and build a book of national clients. Proactively recognize and develop clients in target categories. Identify, qualify, call on and establish long-term business relationships. 5-7 years of B2B sales experience req. Full info HERE (1/3) DIRECTOR OF INDUSTRY PROGRAMMING >> PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA/NYC, NY: Develop & implement a successful Industry programming strategy & schedule to meet institutional timelines, procure talent, conduct research, & secure the highest-level speakers/panelists & moderators who will enhance the content relevance as well as the prestige select media events. 8+ yrs of Media Industry Event Programming & management required. Full info HERE (1/3) SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT – SPONSORSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND GROUP SALES >> NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP/NYC, NY: Competitive, a self-starter, and exemplary leadership, strategic vision with focused execution of multiple projects at the same time. Hands-on leader who enjoys developing unique marketing solutions to meet the needs of clients, while developing successful strategies that result in accretive revenue. Min of 10 yrs of exp required. Full info HERE (1/3) SALES PLANNER – DIRECT RESPONSE CROWN MEDIA FAMILY NETWORKS NY, NY Will provide sales and analytical support to the Direct Response sales team for all Hallmark Channels including managing booking of deals, tracking inventory and maintaining master reports. Bachelor’s Degree in related field, 1-2 yr industry related experience. Knowledge of Wide Orbit is a plus. Full info HERE (12/23) EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE >> LITTON ENTERTAINMENT/BURBANK CA: Litton Entertainment is seeking an experienced Executive-In-Charge of Production who will play a key role in the oversight and hands on management of the production processes, personnel for multiple, concurrent projects and the day-to-day operations of the company’s production facilities. Minimum 10 years’ experience in the entertainment industry. Full info HERE (12/23) DIGITAL MEDIA PRODUCER >> LITTON ENTERTAINMENT/BURBANK CA: Litton Entertainment is seeking a full-time Digital Media Producer to join our digital team. This role includes copywriting and social publishing, asset coordination, social creative concept ideation and content-related project management. Knowledge of producing, publishing, and marketing social media required. Full info HERE (12/23) CLOSED CAPTIONING EDITOR >> LITTON ENTERTAINMENT/BURBANK CA: Litton Entertainment is seeking an experienced Closed Captioning Editor to join post-production. This role will be responsible for managing and prepping the delivery of all final episodes to the appropriate network. Basic knowledge of Adobe Premiere is a must, knowledge of Mac Caption is strongly preferred. Full info HERE (12/23) VP, MULTI-PLATFORM MEDIA PLANNING CROWN MEDIA FAMILY NETWORKS NYC or LA Will develop promotional strategy across all linear & digital platforms and lead a team while working cross-functionally to align and optimize the execution of strategies to drive ratings and business growth. 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