Welcome back to Edition #13 of The SEG3 Report.

We are closing in on SEG3 London (just 16 days to go!), but there is plenty to share before them. The Premier League and Sports Interactive, makers of Football Manager announce a four-year deal - their first together. ESPN is using the NHL Blast experience on Roblox to promote the Stanley Cup Finals, and Netflix plans for 14 new gaming titles to be released, including games featuring “Emily in Paris” and “Selling Sunset”

So, here’s what you need to know this week:

• The Premier League is Coming to Football Manager

• ESPN on NHL Blast

• Emily in Paris: The Video Game (!?)

Let’s get into it…

The Premier League is Coming to Football Manager

The Premier League and Sports Interactive, the studio behind Football Manager, have announced a four-year licensing partnership that will bring a new level of authenticity to the world’s leading football simulation game. All 20 Premier League clubs will be fully licensed within Football Manager, featuring official logos, kits, and player photos across all versions of the game. This partnership marks a significant milestone, allowing football fans around the world to create their own iconic Premier League moments and history in future editions of the game.

Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive Studio Director, expressed his excitement, stating, “Since Football Manager’s inception, we have always wanted to work with the Premier League, and we’re delighted to announce that at last we are.” Jacobson highlighted the partnership's benefits, not just for the in-game experience but also for supporting the Premier League's community and charitable initiatives, which align with Sports Interactive's passions.

Will Brass, the Premier League’s Chief Commercial Officer, emphasized the long-standing popularity of Football Manager and its deep connection with fans globally. Brass stated, “Football Manager has been a big part of the sporting landscape for decades and is loved and enjoyed by millions of fans around the world. We are thrilled that the Premier League will now feature even more prominently in the game.” Further information on the Premier League’s in-game integration with Football Manager, as well as additional partnership activities, will be revealed later in the year.

Why You Should Care

The realization that the Premier League wasn’t already included in the game is the real news here!

Without knowing the details of the deal, it’s fair to assume that previously high licensing fees requested by the Premier League prohibited Sports Interactive, the makers of Football Manager, from partnering with the highest tier of English football in this way. The expected license fee for bringing Premier League IP into the football game would have been significant. However, given the global success of Football Manager, it’s fair to say that they haven’t needed the Premier League to build a successful franchise.

So, what has changed?

It is likely that the Premier League has started to see the benefits of inclusion in this sort of gaming and interactive environment as a way to further develop and secure their brand positioning around the world. Faced with a choice between building their own player management simulation game or partnering with Football Manager, the choice is obvious.

While we wouldn't suggest the Premier League is paying to be involved in the game, it’s fair to assume that they have agreed to a friendly license fee to get this deal done ahead of next season. Football Manager will benefit from having the iconic Premier League teams featured in the game, and the Premier League will benefit from ensuring their IP is represented thoughtfully and accurately in one of the most globally important football gaming platforms. Seems like a win-win.

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ESPN Uses the NHL Blast Roblox Experience to Promote the Stanley Cup Finals

ESPN has teamed up with the NHL to promote their Stanley Cup Playoffs coverage through a new experience on Roblox called ESPN Chaos Run. The collaboration aimed to create an authentic and engaging integration of the ESPN brand within the Roblox environment, raising awareness for the Stanley Cup Final. ESPN Chaos Run is an obstacle course-style challenge within NHL Blast, where users can win races and unlock a free digital prize.

Since its launch, ESPN Chaos Run has garnered over 150,000 visits, indicating its success and popularity within the Roblox community. Developed by The Gang, the game has been praised for its dynamic and enjoyable gameplay. This collaboration makes ESPN the second major brand integration in NHL Blast on Roblox, following The Upper Deck Company, further enhancing the interactive and immersive experiences available to Roblox users.

Why You Should Care

First, you build it, then you monetize it.

A little over a year ago, we were talking about what a great job the NHL did bringing the Roblox experience to life and how they translated the NHL on-ice game into the virtual environment. The interest and fan engagement inside of Roblox were pretty obvious then, and the NHL did a nice job promoting the experience. Now the NHL is taking the experience to the bank. The partnership with ESPN follows a previous paid partnership with Upper Deck, the trading card company. The Roblox experience gives brands a chance to engage directly with fans of the NHL in an environment totally owned and controlled by the league.

Rather than running a paid social campaign that attempts to reach fans of the NHL through the noise and clutter on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, ESPN can build something immersive and interactive and know that they have full voice together with their partner, the NHL, ahead of their signature event. Furthermore, they benefit from the good work the league has already done to curate an audience, and they get to simply activate that audience directly.

Emily in Paris: The Video Game?!

Netflix has announced the launch of 14 new video games, including titles based on its popular TV series "Emily in Paris" and the mobile version of "Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game." The announcement also includes the release dates for highly anticipated games like “The Dragon Prince: Xadia.” In addition to these, Netflix will release three exclusive mobile games developed by Klei Entertainment: “Lab Rat,” “Don’t Starve Together,” and “Rotwood.”

These new additions expand Netflix’s growing collection of video games, which already features recently announced mobile games based on its popular reality dating series such as “Netflix Stories: Perfect Match,” “Too Hot to Handle 3,” “The Ultimatum: Choices,” and “Netflix Stories: Selling Sunset.”

Why you should care?

Overall, this aggressive expansion of Netflix's gaming library, spanning original titles, genre diversity and IP extensions, signals Netflix's commitment to gaming as a key part of its long-term strategy to attract and retain subscribers.

This approach allows Netflix to extend the worlds of these hit shows into interactive gaming experiences for fans, and build out Netflix's first-party gaming content library.

The new games cover a wide range of genres like interactive fiction, adventure, survival, puzzle games and more. This diversifies Netflix's gaming catalogue to appeal to different gaming audiences beyond just casual mobile games.

This move underscores Netflix’s strategy to diversify its entertainment offerings and engage a broader audience through interactive content. The slate of 14 new game launches represents a major push by Netflix to establish itself as a gaming platform alongside its streaming business.

In other news…

A quick round-up of other stories we found interesting this week!

• Rovio, SEGA, and Prime Focus Studios Announce The Angry Birds Movie 3 Is In Production At DNEG Animation

• Pudgy Penguins Mobile Game Coming to Mythos Chain on Polkadot

• DJ Jazzy Jeff Launches AI Digital Twin Powered By Rapport

• Government sues Ticketmaster owner and asks court to break up company’s monopoly on live events

Working on anything cool, or have a press release you would like us to cover? Send it in for the chance for it to be covered in next week’s edition!