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Research outfit Nielsen has launched a new division focussing on esports, a response to the growing interest shown in the company’s games division.
Esports is in the middle of a massive boom, and it makes sense that research firms are preparing offerings for those looking to get involved in the business of esports.
Nielsen’s VP of gaming Nicole Pike, speaking to TechCrunch who broke the news, has said that one of the biggest opportunities lies in measuring the value of esports sponsorships.
“It’s clear that there’s is a gap in the esports industry,” she said. “There’s a huge opportunity for there to be some solid metrics.”
This makes sense, as at the moment it’s tough to quantify exactly how much value there is in having your name on a shirt, or a star player appearing in your twenty second Twitter video. Nielsen has experience here though, and will be drawing on previous work the firm has in evaluating sports sponsorships.
Nielsen is the latest in a long line of companies to ditch the idea of using games as the lens to view esports, and instead trying approaching it from a sports angle, because, that’s exactly what it is. Games here exist as the platform for competition, but for so many reasons, players and organisations should be treated just like athletes and sports teams, with the simplest reason being that that’s exactly what they are.
Pike said that Nielsen is aiming to position itself as “an impartial third party in the whole esports discussion” and has created an advisory board with representation from several big companies, all of which are listed on TechCrunch’s article, in addition to more insight from Pike.aye
