Leading research and monitoring firm launches new eSports division

Leading research, analysis and monitoring group Nielsen has announced the formation of a new division titled Nielsen Esports which will focus on offering insights, valuations and consulting services, providing sponsorship valuation, fan insights, custom industry research and consulting services to rights holders, media platforms and brands around the world in this fast-moving and growing vertical.

“There’s a high demand for reliable, independent measurement of value in eSports,” said Howard Appelbaum, president, Nielsen Entertainment. “We’re excited to enhance our client offerings and provide the industry with solutions that will help guide and optimize investment decisions in this dynamic, growing space.”

Nielsen has developed Esport24, a syndicated sponsorship tracking service for eSports tournaments. The service measures brand exposure in such 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.

Nielsen Esports will also release global fan insights throughout the year, with a new research offering spanning the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Japan, South Korea and China in 2017.

The division has created an eSports advisory board of industry stakeholders who will provide insight to help shape the future of 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.

Stephen Master, managing director of Nielsen Sports North America, and Nicole Pike, vice president of Nielsen Games, have expanded their current roles within the Nielsen Entertainment group to co-lead the global Nielsen Esports business.

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