Lagardère Sports will team up with Sports Business Journal/Daily for its inaugural Esports Rising conference. To be held in Marina Del Ray, California on November 9, this partnership marks SBJ’s biggest venture into esports yet, and Lagardère ’s latest expansion on a global level.

“We are committed to serving as a business accelerator for rights holders and brands in all places where fans are engaging with sports, and esports is a burgeoning industry with an exciting trajectory,” said Andrew N. Pierce, Lagardère Sports President & CEO, Americas. “The launch of SBJ/S’s first dedicated esports conference is emblematic of how that industry is surging on the sports landscape, and we’re excited to have partner with them on Esports Rising and play a leadership role in the insightful conversations that will take place at the conference.”

Global Positioning

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Lagardère’s recent partnership with Splyce put extra emphasis on the Asian market[/perfectpullquote]

Headquartered in London, the sports marketing agency is more often associated with the European region, despite historied activity in the U.S. and Asia. This is signified by the fact that its earliest esports partnerships were with Unicorns of Love, Roccat and SK Gaming – three organisations most established within the EU scene.

However, Lagardère’s recent partnership with global esports org Splyce put extra emphasis on the Asian market (where Splyce has stationed some of its players and teams). Lagardere themselves opened its Shanghai Office in August, and China is the number one ranked country for video game revenues, generating $24.4 billion in 2016.

Moving up the Ecosystem

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]An outside source told TEO that Lagardère Sports were responsible for the recent sponsorship deal between BMW and Riot Games. [/perfectpullquote]

The agency also seems to expand its business to esports developers and publishers. Instagram posts recently uploaded by Lagardere staff indicate a joint workshop between Lagardère Sports and Super Evil Megacorp. Prior to this, an outside source told The Esports Observer that Lagardère Sports have been working with Riot Games in France and were responsible for the recent BMW sponsorship and related activations during the EU LCS Summer playoffs. Lagardère Sports have not commented on this.

The Lagardere Esports Rising conference will feature roundtable sessions and presentations from major figures in the esports industry, including Paul Ward, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Esports Arena; Brendan Donohue, Managing Director of NBA 2K League and Todd Sitrin, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of EA’s Competitive Gaming Division.