Ed Warner: Commonwealth Games has earned extra life by embracing esports February 17, 2022 If you want to win a full bore rifle shooting medal at the Commonwealth Games you’ll need a keen eye, steady hand, ability to lower and control your heart rate, thousands of hours of practice – and a host city willing to include the event. However good you might be, then, Birmingham 2022 isn’t your [...]
Sports law year in review 2021: Were our predictions right? December 26, 2021 In December 2020, while others may have been preparing for muted New Year’s Eve celebrations in light of the new coronavirus variant, we were busy making sports law predictions for the year ahead for City A.M. In summary, we predicted a rise in data-related disputes on the back of Project Red Card, the further growth [...]
No Pac-Man in Paris, but does esports really need the Olympics? October 7, 2021 Only four years ago, esports looked destined to be included as exhibition events at the Paris 2024 Olympics, en route to full medal inclusion at Los Angeles 2028. But the pandemic took the momentum out of their advocates’ lobbying and the success of the new sports showcased at Tokyo appears to have put paid to [...]
Screenshot: Will the digital advertising boom ever end? July 30, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: You are what you tweet **Will the digital advertising boom ever end? **Esports: Britain’s next big thing? Media Moment of the Week: You are what you tweet You know the scenario: someone says something you don’t like on Twitter and you have an overwhelming urge to rise to [...]
Exclusive: UK esports funding hits record high amid lockdown gaming boom July 28, 2021 British esports startups enjoyed record levels of investment last year as surging interest in the sector during Covid lockdowns helped fuel a major cash injection. Esports firms raised £42m in 2020, which was a record year for both value and number of deals. The momentum has continued into 2021, with eight deals worth £15m already [...]
Dele Alli-backed esports firm Excel raises £17m from City investors July 2, 2021 Excel, a British esports franchise endorsed by Tottenham Hotspur footballer Dele Alli, has secured millions of pounds in funding from some of the City’s biggest investors. The rapidly growing gaming organisation, which competes in the League of Legends and Fortnite divisions, today announced a £17m funding round. JRJ Group, which bought a minority stake in [...]
David Beckham-backed Guild Esports signs up Samsung as a sponsor June 21, 2021 David Beckham’s London-listed Guild Esports organisation has signed Samsung as a sponsor. The one-year deal to be Guild’s official display partner is the electronics giant’s first with a British esports team. Samsung is meeting the undisclosed value of the deal with 50 per cent cash and 50 per cent value in kind, in the form [...]
Premier League deal: Fast-growing sportswear brand owned by Andy Murray signs up Wolverhampton Wanderers May 21, 2021 Fast-growing UK sportswear brand Castore, which is part owned by Sir Andy Murray, has agreed its first kit deal with a Premier League club. The company will now supply Wolverhampton Wanderers in a multi-year partnership thought to be worth several million pounds. It comes less than a week after it was disclosed that the Liverpool-based [...]
Spy scandal: Businessman admits smuggling marine tech to China April 28, 2021 A Chinese businessman has pleaded guilty to smuggling marine technology out of the US to help China’s efforts to develop underwater military drones. Shuren Qin, a marine biologist who owns a company that sells oceanographic instruments, pleaded guilty in Boston federal court to illegally exporting devices called hydrophones, which monitor sound underwater. His plea related [...]
6 esports business leaders that you should follow March 31, 2021 | City Talk Esports has become a global phenomenon that has created a new class of super star celebrity and plenty of healthy competition between world-class professional esports teams. In 2019 approximately 32% of Internet users aged between 16 and 24 watched esports. Then came the lockdowns of 2020, and viewership skyrocketed. Twitch saw an increase of 17% [...]