Credit: MLB
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred acknowledged the league’s esports strategy to date “has been kind of a weak spot for us” but pledged more developments in the space this year. He said yesterday at SportTechie’s State Of The Industry conference in N.Y., “It is a real priority for us going forward. It’s tough to say more than this, but I’m pretty confident, in 2019, we’re going to have a really nice announcement in that space.”
Unlike other properties that have created entire esports leagues or tournament series around flagship simulation video game titles, MLB has chosen to focus its competitive gaming efforts to date around its Home Run Derby VR game, staging competitions at real-world events such as the All-Star Game and Little League World Series. “We see that as having real upside for us. It’s really portable and can be used in a lot of places,” he said.
Eric Fisher is a staff writer for Sports Business Daily, where this article appeared first.
