MEDIAPRO & Johan Cruyff Institute Join To Promote eSports Management Programme

MEDIAPRO and Johan Cruyff Institute promote the training of professionals in eSports management with their first massive open online course (MOOC).

Mediapro Group and Johan Cruyff Institute have joined forces to examine the eSports industry and the business opportunities it presents for companies and professionals. The first joint project to be launch is the free massive open online course (MOOC) ‘The eSports Industry’, an online training course for professionals in marketing, communication and consulting, and managers and executives from any sector. Through gamified learning, they will learn about the growing business behind the eSports sector. Both partners will work to incorporate eSports as part of the syllabus of other academic programs.

According to consultancy firm Newzoo, the global eSports audience will reach 495 million people worldwide this year, between occasional viewers and loyal followers. Looking ahead to 2023, the forecasts are for it to reach 646 million, with annual growth of around 10%. In terms of business volume, the eSports industry will generate a turnover of US$1.1 billion, 10.6% more than a year earlier, according to the same consultant. In addition, according to Strock Consulting, eSports are now in eighth place in Spain in the sports ranking by number of contracts with sponsors (not by turnover).

These figures demonstrate the importance of a booming sector that is, nevertheless, still developing and presents numerous business opportunities. For this reason, Johan Cruyff Institute and MEDIAPRO have decided to join forces with the aim of promoting professional training in the field of eSports management. Under this agreement, MEDIAPRO will contribute its leadership in the eSports sector, with projects such as LVP (the largest Spanish-language eSports league in the world) or UBEAT (OTT television channel with content in the sector), while Johan Cruyff Institute will add its knowhow and teaching experience in sport management and sport marketing and sponsorship.

The first project of this collaboration is the massive free online course (MOOC) ‘The eSports Industry’, delivered in English and Spanish, which is already open for registration. With a maximum duration of four weeks, the course looks at the evolution of the eSports industry through the players and stakeholders in the sector, with videos, podcasts, interviews, reports and articles. Participants will learn what eSports are, how this industry and video games work, its legal framework, what opportunities the sector offers and its economic impact, who the key players are and what their roles are, as well as the culture, values and aspirations of the professionals involved.

“Esports are one of the pillars of the Mediapro Group and for this reason we are clear that agreements with institutions such as Johan Cruyff Institute are vital to continue helping this sector grow and preparing the professionals who will lead it in the future,” says María Carmen Fernández, director of innovation and new business at Mediapro Group.

Mariël Koerhuis, general manager of Johan Cruyff Institute, commented that “our institution is always at the forefront of educational innovation and we are closely following the eSports industry. This collaboration with the MEDIAPRO Group opens up ways for us to create together new experiences from the core of this challenging and exciting industry.”

In the words of Víctor Jordán, academic director of Johan Cruyff Institute, “the objective of the program is to enable the students to understand where a young industry like eSports is and where it is going. For this, we have prepared a series of challenges that will allow them to discover, learn about and connect with the people and institutions in the sector.”

“At LVP, we have spent a decade leading the development of the eSports sector in Spain and Latin America. We have poured all our knowhow into this course to make ‘The eSports Industry’ the definitive training tool,” adds Jordi Soler, CEO of LVP.

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