Nielsen Launches Esports Business

Nielsen has launched a new video gaming analysis business called Nielsen Esports, which will provide sponsorship valuation, fan insights, custom industry research and consulting services to rights holders, media platforms and brands.

One of the new business offerings is Esport24, a syndicated sponsorship tracking service for esports tournaments. The service measures brand exposure in esports tournaments representing a variety of titles, event formats and geographic locations based on the same methodology that allows traditional sports rights holders and brands to quantify value and benchmark performance. The business will also release global fan insights throughout the year, with a new research offering spanning the US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea and China in 2017.

The new venture will be co-led by Stephen Master, MD of Nielsen Sports North America, and Nicole Pike, VP of Nielsen Games, who have expanded their current roles within the Nielsen Entertainment group. In addition, Nielsen has created an esports advisory board of industry stakeholders who will provide insight to help shape the future of esports audience measurement and valuation. Members include representatives from ESL, ESPN, Facebook, FIFA, Major League Gaming/Activision Blizzard, NBA 2K League, The Next Level, Sony PlayStation, Turner, Twitch, Twitter, Unilever and Google YouTube.

Howard Appelbaum, President, Nielsen Entertainment, comments: 'There's a high demand for reliable, independent measurement of value in esports. We're excited to enhance our client offerings and provide the industry with solutions that will help guide and optimize investment decisions in this exciting, growing space'.

Web site: www.nielsen.com .