26 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE The Switch
Charles Conroy is the new vice-president of gaming at The Switch. He started as a pro esports player, but now he’s hoping to bridge the gap between esports and broadcast ESPORTS IS CERTAINLY NOT A BUBBLE
FEED: YOU HAVE A BACKGROUND AS A PROFESSIONAL GAMER. HOW DID YOU END UP WORKING AT A BROADCAST TECHNOLOGY COMPANY LIKE THE SWITCH? CHARLES CONROY: I’ve been in esports half my life, which is kind of crazy to think about now. I started in 2003 as a player, then I started a team called JMC (JaX Money Crew), which was absorbed by DirecTV and become the Dallas Venom. I became their general manager at age 19. This was part of DirecTV’s championship gaming series. It was the first time esports was on global television. There were eight teams in the United States, each assigned to a city, and after season one that grew to 18 teams. About $50 million was spent on that league in two years. When that didn’t work, it was honestly sort of a dark time in esports. People thought: if News Corp couldn’t make it work for that amount of money, who could? I then joined a team called Complexity that my friend owned. He gave me an equity share and we ran it together for about eight years. We made Complexity the powerhouse it is now, one of the top eports teams in the world and, dating back
love this esports thing. We want you to dive right in and we want to give you the support you need,” it was a no-brainer to take the baton and run with it. FEED: HOW DO YOU THINK THE SWITCH CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORLD OF ESPORTS? CC: You see major brands taking notice of esports and we’re starting to see traditional broadcast sports quality on the championship level. I feel like we really need that. It used to be very grassroots. We were figuring things out as we went. And there’s nothing wrong with that – it was clearly successful – but now bringing brands in like The Switch who do the Super Bowl, the Oscars, the Grammys and have 32 years of expertise, is going to do nothing but elevate everyone on both sides. There are things that esports can learn from traditional sports and there are things that traditional sports can learn from esports. And we’re trying to build the perfect hybrid to elevate everyone’s game. FEED: AND HOW DO YOU THINK ESPORTS CAN HELP OUT TRADITIONAL BROADCAST? CC: One thing I’ve seen in broadcasting is that sometimes people can go a bit stagnant and rest on their laurels. No offense to anyone in particular; innovation might happen on a technological level, but as far as fan engagement and things of that nature go, esports is light years ahead.
CHARLES CONROY “ I’ve been in esports half my life, which is kind of crazy to think about”
to 2003, the oldest team in North America. It was sold to the Dallas Cowboys, at which point I exited. Now I’m just a fan. Go, Complexity! I became an on-air personality, working for digital networks like MLG and Sony Online Entertainment, and I decided I wanted to get back into esports full time. But I wanted an opportunity that combined traditional sports with esports. When I was approached by The Switch, the world’s leading broadcaster of traditional sports, and they said, “We
I THINK THE NUMBERS ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO GROWASMONEY IS PUMPED IN
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