SK Telecom sets up esports venture with Comcast
SK Telecom has set up a joint esports venture with U.S. media and entertainment company Comcast to develop business models in the global esports market, which is projected to be worth more than 3 trillion won ($2.5 billion) by 2022, the Korean company said Friday.
The establishment of the joint venture came after the nation’s top mobile carrier signed a strategic partnership with Comcast Spectacor to push for various joint businesses in esports and games at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2019 in Barcelona in February.
SK Telecom is the largest shareholder of the joint venture, dubbed SK Telecom CS T1, with a 55 percent stake.
Comcast and U.S. asset management company Highland Capital Management have invested $41 million as the second-largest and third-largest shareholders, respectively.
Comcast is the world’s second-largest cable television and broadcasting company. Comcast Spectacor is responsible for Comcast’s sports and entertainment business.
The joint venture head office in Seoul will be in charge of finding business models, operating esports teams based in Asia and creating professional content, according to SK Telecom.
A subsidiary in Los Angeles will take charge of esports teams based in North America.
“The establishment of SK Telecom CS T1 will give a chance for esports, which began in Korea, to become an export industry,” said Huh Seok-joon who heads the SK Telecom private placement group. “We will swiftly push for esports businesses around the world and expand cooperation with a variety of global esports companies.”
According to Goldman Sachs, the scale of the global esports market is expected to reach $2.9 billion in 2022 from $869 million last year.