The State of Esports Journalism

The newest episode of the Four Horsemen almost lays the matter bare before viewers...almost!

Jul 16, 2024

Happy Tuesday to all my wonderful readers! I want to highlight a recent episode of The Four Horsemen that tackled the thorny issue of esports media. In case you are not familiar with the show, it regularly features former esports coach and commentator Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles; seasoned esports journalist Richard Lewis; and former journalist, esports historian, and content creator Duncan "Thorin" Shields. The latest episode also featured my friend and colleague, Kevin Hitt, who recently worked at Sports Business Journal and is now a contributor at Sportskeeda.

The episode dove into a number of interesting topics including the Esports Awards aligning with the Esports World Cup for the next three years, why ESPN Esports failed, the early days of esports journalism, and the muddying of waters with publications taking money from the subjects they cover and doing a piss-poor job of disclosing it to their readers.

Overall a very spicy and salty episode, but I would have liked to have heard more about disclosures, and how many of the most popular outlets covering esports right now are knowingly violating FTC and CMA guidelines when it comes to disclosures on advertising/paid content.

Also, I was actually asked to go on the show but I had to decline because—as anyone who has talked to me in a video call or on the phone since January will tell you—I have an ongoing issue with my voice (I sound like a frog). In fact, next month I am going to see a specialist to figure out what the hell is going on—here’s to hoping it’s nothing serious.

When I was asked who I would have on the show to talk about journalism, I of course said Kevin Hitt would be my first and probably only choice. I am glad they had him on, he’s a pretty sharp guy with lots of insights.

This is all a very long way of saying, go check out the show. And while you’re at it, go subscribe to Richard Lewis’ Substack and YouTube channel; Last Free Nation (home of The Four Horsemen and a number of other informative shows on YouTube); and Thorin’s Substack. Sure, some of these guys might rub you the wrong way and have some opinions you don’t agree with, but discounting their expert opinions (having been in the business for so long) on the state of esports would be pretty short sighted. - James Fudge.

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Ido Brosh takes on the role of esports business development at Catena Media.
John Perez is the new head of tournament management - Americas at ESL FACEIT Group.
Andrew Strauser joins Tundra Esports as its new chief content officer.
Wim Stocks joins Frequency Advisors as head of commercial, partnerships, & biz dev.
Jason Key is the new head of strategy and business operations at Meta.
Colin Salao joins Front Office Sports as a reporter.
Former Netflix and Dreamworks exec Bruce Daitch joins the board of OneTeam Partners.
Najmah Salam starts a new role as marketing consultant at Into Games.
Ataberk Ateş joins Climax Studios as a senior technical designer.
Former ID@Xbox Director Agostino Simonetta joins the GRIP Studios board.
Yoojin Jung joins Trailmix Games as its new chief marketing officer.

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💵 Enthusiast Gaming secures a $20M loan.

💵 Playmob acquired by Sphaira Innovation.

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✈ Teamfight Tactics gets a Macau event.

🔔 Teamfight Tactics also gets a new update.

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🏆 Bronny James wins at NBA Summer League.

🤝🏻 TVS Raider sponsors Orangutan's BGMI team.

🤝🏻 Riot partners with TNC for LoL in the Philippines.

🤝🏻 Oddin partners with Dafabet.

🤝🏻 Mobile Global Esports signs apparel deal with Shiv Naresh.

🤝🏻 Saudis in pact with IMAX.

🤝🏻 China Media Group, the Esports World Cup Foundation, and VSPO in pact.

😢 Gfinity Media Group staff hit with layoffs.

⚽ Former footballer leans into esports.

🔍 Dubai’s Association for the Development of Corporate Sports eyes esports.

📺 STC Group goes big with Esports World Cup broadcasts.

The Fudge Retort

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