YES: We have esports in Brazil

Leo De Biase BBL Founding Partner and ESL Brazil’s CEO

W

ith 3.5 billion fans across several continents,football is the most popular sport in the world.

Whilst it remains some way behind this, esports is fast making moves. In 2018 alone, esports engaged more than 395 million viewers globally. This number is expected to rise to 456 million by 2019. According to data and analytics firm Newzoo, revenues are expected to total US$1.7 billion by 2021. Latin American market will play a significant role, and within LATAM, Brazil is undoubtedly the leading light.

Currently, Brazil is the third largest country when it comes to esports consumption worldwide, behind only China and the USA. The country has 75.7 million gamers, with 18 million of them being classified as esports viewers. In 2018, the Brazilian gaming market generated revenues of over US$ 1.5 billion.

With such significant growth, it is no wonder that many companies are looking for ways to connect to this audience, but it is clear too that in order to fully capitalise on this potential, proper guidance is necessary. After all, this market is still new and brands may tread a bit carefully when navigating these new waters. However, the potential rewards that

BBL Arena

await those successful in reaching ‘the promised land’ are expected to be fully worth the effort.

“Companies no longer know how to talk to millennials. TV no longer talks to them and movies are not interactive enough. This generation are heavy users of AdBlock, which makes it even more challenging to impact them. At BBL we have created innovative solutions with differentiated formats that make that impact possible - even if they are using AdBlock”, explains Leo DeBiase, BBL Founding Partner and ESL Brazil’s CEO.

It was precisely for this reason that BBL came into being. To bridge this gap between advertisers and their target demographics. Brands are able to reach their target audience through leagues, tournaments, content channels, events and influencers, all facilitated by BBL. BBL holds the exclusive ESL license for Brazil and produces all of its shows and content for local audiences.

In November 2018, BBL inaugurated its new headquarters in São Paulo. This includes a total of 1,600 square meters of space, made up of six studios, a broadcast control room, a 300-person arena (including a VIP section), a pizza oven and social space dedicated to the esports experience. BBL’s headquarters, nicknamed BBLair by the staff, has already hosted major tournaments, such as the Valor of Series regional finals, the finale of the LA League CS:GO, and the Superliga ABCDE Championship.

Jovem Pan Radio (“JPR”), the largest radio station group in Brazil, is BBL’s partner. Not only does JPR have a huge presence in radio, it also has a large internet footprint due to its Youtube channel, with more than 100 million views. BBL and JPR together bring the production and transmission of radio and internet programs focused on esports, interviews, analytical and didactic content, humorous sketches, selections of best and worst plays, and much more.

Case Study The Success of Superliga Superliga ABCDE, a League of Legends tournament, brings together the most prominent teams in the Brazilian scene for a fun, fan-focused and lighthearted experience. Superliga was created as a gift to the community which supports League of Legends. They get the super competitive CBLOL as their National Championship and Superliga as their lighthearted, meme maker; in essence the fun championship which works as an official off-season tournament.

The strength of this approach was validated by partnerships with NET (largest Brazil ISP), Burger King and Uber Eats.

BBL worked with Burger King and Uber Eats to create an activation called “Invasão do Zeva” (“Zeva’s Invasion”). Nothing like this activation had ever been seen before in the Brazilian gaming market. Inspired by old TV shows and adapted for an esports approach and audience, the idea was a perfect fit for the brands.

“The Burger King / Uber Eats activation with Zeva (an esports narrator in Superliga) was a success and generated a lot of impact in the community. In fact, it had such an impact that it even increased sales”, says Leo De Biase. “By monitoring social media, we have seen that the championship’s audience started to consume Burger King more often - especially while watching the games and/or the livestream of the influencer surprised by Zeva.”

This case is just one example of the creativity allowed by esports and brought into being by BBL.

The future of the Brazilian market Brazil is known for dedicated and passionate fans and this is also true in esports.

A great example of this was ESL One BH (in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais) in June 2018. Even though the championship started on the same day the Brazilian National Squad debuted in the World Cup, almost 15,000 people went to Mineirinho stadium, watched matches, cheered and showed their passion for the game. The Brazilian audience in esports is projected to surpass 30 million people by 2020, according to Newzoo.

In terms of a battle for future audience, and winning hearts, minds and adoring fans, the ball is seemingly very much in esports’ court.

According, once again, to Newzoo, there are currently more young Brazilians aged 10 to 20 years old, interested in esports than there are in football. This is significant indeed for a nation known worldwide for its love of football, and says it all about why companies and stakeholders in the esports space would be foolish to overlook the largest nation in LATAM and South America.

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