Paris – Esports BAR, the world’s leading business market for the international esports community, is heading to the United States, following the widely-acclaimed first edition in Cannes, France last February.
Reed MIDEM, the Paris-based organiser of major international B2B markets in entertainment that include MIPTV and MIPCOM for the television and digital content industries and Midem for the music sector, will hold the second edition of Esports BAR in Miami from 18-20 September.
The three-day event confirms Reed MIDEM’s commitment to building international markets of reference for the esports industry, allowing companies operating in the esports ecosystem to negotiate related rights, foster business relationships, and create new contacts.
Esports BAR in Miami will bring together over 100 pre-selected leading executives from esports teams, leagues and tournaments, game publishers, brands, advertising agencies and related television and online platforms. “This selection process is what makes Esports BAR unique. The idea is to bring together the 100 people who will benefit most from meeting each other. It’s a system of business relationship brokering,” noted Jérôme Delhaye, Director of Reed MIDEM’s Entertainment Division.
Designed as a global event bringing together executives from more than 20 countries active in the worldwide esports industry, the upcoming edition of Esports BAR is expected to attract a particularly strong participation from the United States, Latin America and Canada.
The event will be comprised of a 1-to-1 summit offering leading executives a full diary of guaranteed pre-scheduled meetings. Business insight sessions will provide delegates with the opportunity to develop their understanding of the esports market and will showcase best practices related to the esports sector. Miami will also see numerous networking events designed to develop relationships within the expanding esports community.
To provide the most productive esports matchmaking experience possible, Reed MIDEM is supported by an advisory team of leading esports professionals, which includes Stuart Saw, Twitch’s Director of Esports Strategy, Matthieu Dallon, Esport Strategy Director, Webedia and President, France eSports, Sidney Kim, CEO of Rox Tigers and ROX Orcas OverWatch Team, Ralf Reichert, CEO of ESL, Mike Sepso, Senior VP Activision Blizzard, Wouter Sleijffers, CEO of Fnatic, and Arnd Benninghoff, EVP, MTG and CEO of MTGx Ventures.
In its first edition, held in Cannes from 15-17 February, Esports BAR was sold out with a final number of 115 pre-selected leading executives from 69 companies and 18 countries. Among the major companies attending, Esports BAR in Cannes welcomed digital platforms Twitch, Facebook and YouTube, media giants Orange, Vivendi, Univision and Discovery, game publishers EA, Activision Blizzard, Bandai and Rovio, esports key players such as ESL, ESWC and Webedia, teams SK Gaming, Vitality, Fnatic, and major brands and agencies including Lagardère Sports, IBM, Sennheiser and The Coca Cola Company. A significantly expanded version of Esports BAR will take place in Cannes in February 2018.
