One on one
“Esport has been a bad experiment for some of these guys – they did not realise that it was actually an events business”
the US. Why is that? We break it down and let them understand how these emerging OTT platforms are working. Why is Disney+ investing more in one place than another? Or what does Apple’s deal with Major League Soccer mean? When it comes to actually producing the media, our company advises that they go work with an agency, like an Octagon. We don’t have production teams or monitor media performance. We do it at a very high level, but we’re not telling you that 10,000 people saw your ad for Coca-Cola. Xtreme: What are some of the new areas that are especially peaking your interest right now? Walker: Two things that are interesting to me are youth sports and the role that sports plays in
them take advantage of that spend to acquire new community. Federations are totally different. They are historical and traditional; they don’t want to mess with the format, but have really interesting global positions. Those usually have cultural and data issues. We try to come in and break down the cultural barriers to innovation. We work with them more on the strategy side and use the data to get them thinking in different ways. That's often when Angela comes in, throws some elbows and slams them up against the boards – her role is to help them shake things up! Xtreme: How are you helping with their media strategies? Walker: We’re good at advising them on where to go. FuboTV, for example, has been taking off in
Xtreme: Any advice for smaller federations or niche sports? Walker: Premier Lacrosse League, Athletes Unlimited, the Professional Fighters League, these are all upstart brands trying to build a community of rabid fans. So we work with them on multilingual content and talk about which geographies are most interesting. We are global, but can tell the most about what’s happening in the US. Those smaller brands tend to have huge ambitions and often private equity or venture funding. We help
NUMBERS GAME Josh Walker talks at CES, discussing
the subjects of data collection
and interpretation, which give a greater picture of fans
36 FEED:XTREME SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022
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