We spoke with Allied Esports CEO Jud Hannigan in the wake of the latest partnership with MuxIP, reflecting the company’s ambition to expand across the world and engage with new audiences. The pandemic has generated fresh demand for quality esports content, and with that Allied Esports has decided to step in and help build a more varied offer that will cater to all types of viewers and not necessarily focus exclusively on competitive action.
More importantly, Allied Esports is building storytelling, bringing a completely new narrative to the esports content scene. The company has access to many unique players who all have something to tell that will be of interest to audiences to learn. Players are coming under the limelight as Allied Esports continues to build tailored content to appeal to new and existing esports audiences.
Q: How is the most recent partnership with MuxIP complementing Allied Esports’ efforts so far in the competitive video gaming ecosystem?
Allied Esports is positioned at the center of the gaming industry, with facilities that support local communities, professional tournaments, third-party events, production services, and content creation. The distribution of our content with partners like MuxIP is the next phase in expanding our footprint and growing our brands through new audiences around the world.
Q: Do you think the surge in demand for content in 2020 revealed any limitations to the existing library of content available?
For much of 2020, esports was the only product left standing for people who like to watch the competition, and interest from new audiences grew significantly. Esports and gaming have never lacked content, but the pandemic generated more eyeballs than ever before and created even more demand for variations of content and storytelling outside of pure competitive action.
Q: Allied Esports operates in both the digital and physical space? Do you see a symbiosis between the two in terms of producing and delivering quality content?
Absolutely. There will always be things that you can do in a live setting that you can’t do online, but finding a way to meld the two creates incredible flexibility and production quality. The investment that Allied Esports has made in infrastructure and live event space came hand-in-hand with an investment in online production. We are well-positioned for both live and online content creation.
Q: What are some of the big content plans you have for the future?
Storytelling. Because of our weekly community events in Las Vegas, we have so many incredible players with amazing stories sitting in our building nearly every night. We’re excited to showcase them and elevate their personalities and abilities even further.
Q: Do you reckon there is something specific about esports content today that needs to change to strike home with existing audiences and potentially attract new viewers?
In the way content is created today, you have to find a balance where your product serves to educate new audiences who are turning in for the first time – to get them hooked – as well as engage the stalwart fan who has been there for a decade. That’s the needle to be thread and something we try to tackle in our broadcast productions.
