PRESS

USA TODAY "eSports In The Olympics Could Happen Before You Know It" (04/18/17)

"Consider that just two years ago, only five professional teams had a stake in the e-sports market, said Manny Anekal, founder of The Next Level, which covers the business of eSports. Another 30 got involved last year, and Anekal said there’s 15 more already this year.

In February, the NBA announced it will start its own e-league next year, the first of the four major professional leagues to do so.

Where the rest of the world sees kids rotting away in their basements, marketing and sports executives see the all-important younger demographic and the dollars that go with it."

ALISTDAILY "Why Non-Endemic Brands Are Investing In eSports" (01/12/17)

"What do Adidas, Visa, Lionsgate, 5 Hour Energy, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Miami Heat have in common? They all invested in eSports over the last week. These companies are the latest in a growing trend for non-endemic brands to realize the potential of this young, engaged demographic.

According to Manny Anekal of The Next Level, here are the brands that invested in eSports in 2016."

THE GUARDIAN"The Beautiful Game 2.0: How FIFA 17 Taught Teal Football A Lesson" (09/23/17)

“If you look into certain sports in the US – like baseball where the average viewer is 53 [years old] or to niche sports like Nascar and wrestling – eSports can compete,” said Manny Anekal, founder of eSports media company Versus Sports. “In fact, just this past week, the Turner Sports ELEAGUE actually drew more viewers in both ‘total’ and ‘18-49' [years old] demographics than the televised [Chelsea v Liverpool Premier League match]. That was pretty impressive to me.”