IPL is For Sale – What Now?
The news broke earlier today that IGN’s new owner Ziff Davis was axing several of the companies formally under the IGN umbrella. (Polygon, Kotaku) A lot of good people lost their jobs today, and we wish them the best of luck in finding new homes. Most importantly for those us who follow eSports was the news that while Ziff Davis has not killed IPL in the same manner- they are trying to sell it. There are several possible outcomes to this unfortunate event.
IPL4 vs IPL5 viewing figures
Best-case: IPL gets a great new owner. Possibly one of the larger organisations already involved in eSports or even a very large company that is looking for a new way to advertise to a key demographic. IPL5’s viewing figures and the growth it saw since IPL4 clearly show the speed the industry is expanding and the reach that IPL have. With Qualcomm moving into eSports just this month- another mega-corp coming in from outside the scene is not out of the question. In this eventuality not much would change within IPL. There may be a little fat trimming here and there, but on the whole it would remain functioning and mostly intact.
Worst-case: No buyer can be found. In this case, at some point in the not too distant future, IPL would be dissolved. This does not seem very likely, any price is better than no price and since IPL has so much potential; someone will most likely pick it up, even if it is on the cheap. Nevertheless, this is the biggest fear and the worst outcome.
The foggy middle-ground: This is the hardest area to predict. In this outcome IPL does find a buyer, but maybe not one with the vision or finances to keep the good-ship IPL afloat in its current state. This would likely lead to lay-offs and the possibility of the less profitable games being cut. What changes could or would be made with this type of buyer are too varied to list. The status quo would not be maintained however, which would be the key aspect.
What does this mean for the future?
At the time of publication no official word has been released about the future of IPL or that of IPL6- which is set to occur at the end of March. It seems unlikely that IPL6 will not go ahead, as it would involve breaking numerous contracts including major ones like with The Cosmopolitan. Further, as Ziff Davis are trying to sell IPL, it would make little sense to lower the value of the company via cancelling a major event and causing negative press to bloom like sulky black roses throughout the eSports scene.
Nobody seems to have any actual information yet, and if they do they are not releasing it. What does matter though is that if IPL6 does go ahead, we give it our full support. Turn off the adblockers, give it as much attention as possible and as much word of mouth. IPL might be under negotiation for sale at the time or possibly be sold already- IPL6 will then become what decides its future under the new owner. It would be first truly major blow to eSports in quite some time if we lost IPL. No one wants to see the bearded man cry.
- Jaszon ‘Lightblind’ Alexzander @Ravus
also im linking this to Razer’s Fbook page they prob know about it but if they dont…. well we can hope just hope the finances cut out for them (I <3 Razer)
I know Razer listens to their customers and fans a lot more than any most other companies….. Petition for them to buy if they have the finances? then AMD could get back in with a way to compete against Intel’s IEM….. then there are those other companies that dont really have anything to do with Esports, Microsoft (Games) would be the main one i can think of cuz of Halo…. Blizz defidently could, as well as riot but with LCS and BWC i dont think they would take it…. so Razer is one of our last hopes…. seriously though petition?
@Lightblind
Dont they make good money with IPL?
Is there any word on an asking price? How does one evaluate IPL’s potential value, for that matter? What is the potential for a company like Razer buying it, or another company that would like “Blank Presents IPL,” perhaps a bit like Intel’s IEM series? Could an organization like TSM, Azubu, or SK even come close to affording it? If no buyer is found, can I have it for $2?
…and lastly, the question no one else will think to ask: have they tried to sell it to Pornhub?
No mention of price. I presume some form of bidding will go on. Razer or any really major company could probably afford it if they wanted to. I don’t think any of the eSports orgs (TSM, SK, ETC) would be able to afford the running costs even if they could afford the initial payment. But I also don’t know almost anything about their actual finances so I’m unsure. I wouldn’t even like to guess at a value, it depends if someone buys them for reach and potential or profit. The former being much larger currently than the latter
Well, hopefully it is the best case. Im positive on this one.
Why does the company wants to sell IPL anyway? Anything about that yet published?
Nothing hard and fast but it’s quite obvious that IPL doesn’t fit with what Ziff wants- to write about stuff, not actually make stuff happen.