adminThe Sportfive agency has established an international esports unit, naming Eike Gyllensvärd to the newly-created position of executive vice-president of global esports partnerships.
Having formed an esports operation at its German arm in 2016, Sportfive has upped its involvement in the sector since — most notably in the sponsorship sales space — and is now rolling out its activities globally.
Gyllensvärd, who has been with Sportfive for 18 years, will assume the lead on sponsorship sales with Moritz Altmann named as vice-president of global esports and handed a remit to develop the global business and manage relations with rights-holders.
Altmann has spent over a decade at Sportfive and was among a quartet that initially developed the agency’s esports concept four years ago in a process supported and promoted by Robert Müller von Vultejus, a member of the recently-formed Hamburg-based global executive committee at the rebranded agency.
Announcing its global plans this morning, Sportfive cited the “considerable market size” now commanded by esports that surpasses “many traditional sports in terms of both revenue and viewership”.
Sportfive noted: “In 2019 the industry globally hit US$950 million (€800m) in revenue and is expected to reach $1,1 billion in 2020, while 58 percent of the revenue is forecasted to come from sponsorships.
“The esports audience is projected to hit close to 500 million fans in 2020. These numbers combined reflect over 5 percent growth in revenue and over 10 percent growth in audience size year over year.”
On the new role for Gyllensvärd, Sportfive said that he has “played a significant role in the development of Sportfive’s sales capabilities in Germany as well as globally. — Wires
Online Reporter