FOX Sports Executive Pete Vlastelica Named President and CEO of Activision Blizzard’s Major League Gaming Division
September 07 2016 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Vlastelica to Join Former ESPN CEO Steve
Bornstein and Major League Gaming Co-Founder Mike Sepso on
Activision Blizzard’s Growing All-Star Esports Team
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) today announced that
veteran FOX Sports executive Pete Vlastelica has been named
President and CEO of Major League Gaming (MLG), joining sports
broadcast titan Steve Bornstein and competitive gaming leader Mike
Sepso on the company’s all-star esports team. Vlastelica, who
founded and sold the online sports network Yardbarker to Fox in
2010, most recently served as FOX Sports’ Executive Vice President
of Digital. At Activision Blizzard, Vlastelica will expand and
enhance the company’s broadcast, content and distribution
leadership across the global esports ecosystem.
“We continue to add to our all-star esports leadership team.
Pete is an entrepreneurial leader with a history of creating
inspired content and developing new digital channels of
distribution,” said Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of
Activision Blizzard. “As we continue to build MLG into the premier
esports network, Pete will further our mission celebrating the
accomplishments of gamers worldwide.”
“Pete understands that whether it’s on a field, a console or a
phone, players and fans want to experience community, camaraderie
and excellence in competition. He’s a rare talent who will deliver
great opportunities to our players and fans,” said MLG Chairman
Steve Bornstein.
“I’m joining MLG because of the rare combination of massive
digital scale and deep audience engagement around competitive
gaming, and because there’s no better category of live streaming
video content out there,” said Vlastelica. “It’s clear that video
games are the future of sports – and if any company is positioned
to capitalize on this global opportunity, it’s Activision Blizzard.
I’m thrilled to join the team.”
At FOX Sports, Vlastelica led content, product development,
social media and operations, with a focus on creating
multi-platform content properties, including Emmy-award winning
“Garbage Time with Katie Nolan.” Vlastelica was responsible for
production and distribution of all Fox Sports content across
digital platforms, including FOXSports.com, FOX Sports Go, and
Yardbarker, one of the largest online sports networks, which he
founded. Under Vlastelica’s leadership, the mobile app FOX Sports
Go streamed Super Bowl XLVIII, at the time setting a new Internet
streaming record for a sporting event. Previously, he managed
business development at the Walt Disney Internet Group in
London.
Vlastelica’s appointment is another key moment in Activision
Blizzard’s competitive gaming leadership.
- The company launched Activision
Blizzard’s esports division last year, naming former CEO of ESPN
and the NFL Network Steve Bornstein as the division’s chairman, and
co-founder of MLG Mike Sepso as its Senior Vice President.
- In December, Activision Blizzard
acquired the business of MLG, a leader in creating and streaming
live gaming events, organizing professional competitions and
running competitive gaming leagues.
- In April, MLG’s Counter-Strike: Global
Offensive Major Championship set record esports viewership for the
event during its broadcast, with 71 million video views, 45 million
hours of live broadcast, and record 1.6 million concurrent
viewers.
- In May, MLG debuted the Enhanced
Viewership Experience (EVE) at NewFronts and a collaboration with
Facebook to broadcast live competitions to the platform’s 1.6
billion members.
- In September, Activision launched the
Call of Duty World League. In partnering with MLG and MGL.tv, the
league hosted its final live qualifying competition at the Call of
Duty MLG Orlando Open and brought millions of fans live coverage
from Call of Duty XP.
Vlastelica will be based at Activision Blizzard’s Santa Monica
headquarters and report to Chief Operating Officer Thomas Tippl.
Bornstein and Sepso will continue in their leadership positions and
operations for MLG will continue to be based in New York City.
This year, more than 256 million people watched competitive
gaming1. The company’s esports portfolio includes regional and
global events for Activision’s Call of Duty® and Blizzard
Entertainment’s Heroes of the Storm®, Hearthstone®
and StarCraft® titles. Key events include Activision’s Call
of Duty World League, Call of Duty XP and Blizzard Entertainment’s
annual BlizzCon celebration and Heroes of the Dorm competition.
About Activision
Blizzard
Activision Blizzard, Inc., a member of the S&P 500, is the
world's most successful standalone interactive entertainment
company. We delight nearly 500 million monthly active users around
the world through franchises including Activision's Call of Duty®,
Destiny and Skylanders®, Blizzard Entertainment's World of
Warcraft®, StarCraft®, Diablo®, Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™
and Overwatch®, and King's Candy Crush™, Pet Rescue™ and Farm
Heroes™. The company is one of the Fortune "100 Best Companies To
Work For®". Headquartered in Santa Monica,
California, Activision Blizzard has operations throughout
the world, and its games are played in 196 countries. More
information about Activision Blizzard and its products
can be found on the company's
website, www.activisionblizzard.com.
________________1 Newzoo, “2016 Global Esports Market
Report”
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160907005418/en/
Activision BlizzardMary Osako, 424-322-5166SVP, Global
CommunicationsMary.Osako@activision.comorBruce Dugan,
646-502-7344Director of Communications, Major League
Gamingbdugan@mlg.tv
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