The world’s largest esports company is looking to establish an ecosystem in Asia.
Speaking with CNBC’s Dan Murphy, Frank Sliwka, the COO of Asia for ESL Gaming, said there is a “huge opportunity” for esports to grow in the regional emerging markets.
“We have a lot of communities already established,” he said, “so it makes a lot of sense for us to go here.”
The company makes money primarily from advertising, sponsorships, merchandise and ticketing for its events, Sliwka said.
Beyond ESL Gaming’s efforts as a tournament organizer, Sliwka also spoke about the company’s push into video streaming.
With that proving to be another of ESL Gaming’s “big business cases,” Sliwka said the company currently produces content aimed at millennials and those from Generation Z, distributing content through both partnerships and its own platform.
“At the moment, content is king,” he said.
Asked about the company’s partnerships with Amazon’s Twitch and Facebook Watch, Sliwka said: “We (are) following exactly what our target groups are watching and through which platforms they are watching.”
“It’s Twitch, it’s YouTube, it’s Facebook and, as I said, our own streaming platforms,” he added.
And it’s not just digital platforms that are looking for a bigger piece of the pie, Sliwka said, telling CNBC that traditional TV broadcasters have taken notice of the opportunity and are also starting to enter the space.
“We are approached from a lot of traditional broadcasters and they are stepping in, but their target group [is] completely different to ours, so they have to adjust a little bit … to our content,” he said.
