Photo: Austin Technology Council
The NBA 2K League is getting its name out in the esports industry.
South by Southwest (SXSW) will feature an NBA 2K League panel in their 2019 programme, under “Esports Industry,” one of the the conference’s three main umbrellas of programming.
The session “Bringing Esports to Sports” will feature four front-office members from the NBA 2K League:
- Wizards District Gaming’s Grant Paranjape, the Director of Esports (Business and Team Operations) for Monumental Sports and Entertainment
- Claire Kaido, Director of Business Operations of Knicks Gaming for the Madison Square Garden Company
- Pistons GT’s Team Operations Manager Adam Rubin, of Palace Sports and Entertainment
- Bucks Gaming’s Colin Hayes, the team’s Director of Business Strategy
The panel’s description of the session:
For our session we will discuss the inaugural season of the NBA 2K League, some of the challenges and success stories of integrating esports into traditional sports franchises, as well as some of the biggest surprises we encountered participating in a brand new esports league. Additionally, we’ll look at how different teams across the league approach partnership opportunities, managing player expectations, and marketing their brand in their local markets.
Former NBA 2K League Head of Content and Media Sam Asfahani, who departed the league earlier this year to form his own company, will also appear on a panel at the conference.
(Via Pam Renteria, gaming.sxsw.com)