AT&T takes partnership play to new arena: esports

Mike Snider | USA TODAY

The burgeoning esports business just got a well-connected partner: AT&T.

The telecom giant has signed on as a partner with the esports operator ESL to sponsor several upcoming mobile video game competitions in North America.

AT&T and ESL staged a surprise mobile game competition with several pro gamers playing the game Clash Royale as part of announcing the partnership Sunday at the telecom company's annual Shape tech and entertainment event in Los Angeles.

Already well-known for its involvement in more traditional sports -- there's AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, and AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants -- AT&T has expanded into other entertainment sponsorships including the Tribeca Film Festival.

Esports is at the "intersection of tech and entertainment," said Shiz Suzuki, assistant vice president for AT&T corporate sponsorships. "It really also gives us an opportunity to reach that young and diverse audience."

AT&T may not be an obvious partner for esports, but the advent of super-fast 5G mobile connections, due to begin becoming readily available later this year, will provide an equalizing foundation for mobile gaming, she says. "We think about the esports of the future and that really is around mobile gaming and the ability to take that experience of low latency (and) fast speeds and to not be at a disadvantage to be wireless and to take that anywhere," Suzuki said.

Esports has grown to have a global audience of 335 million in 2017, according to the Entertainment Software Association people in 2017. While most video game competitions are waged on games played on personal computers and console game systems, mobile devices have gained in importance over the last two years, says Mark Cohen, senior vice president for global brand partnerships at ESL.

At the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo June 12-14 in L.A., AT&T have a 5G demo at the ESL Arena, which will also host live competitions (watch on live stream service Twitch). AT&T will also have a presence at several upcoming events including the Arena of Valor Pro League, ESL One New York in September, and Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) North America in November.

For ESL, which holds the claim of the world's largest independent esports company, AT&T brings unparalleled clout, Cohen says.

"AT&T has certainly been an iconic brand in what most people see as traditional sports," he said. "We just know the value they could bring to our events, our platform, the fans, the community and the esports athletes themselves. We're just so happy to have them aboard."

More: Why watch other people play video games? What you need to know about esports

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.