In the industry of esports, the talent behind the scene and on the business side of things often go unnoticed, a mere backdrop to the tournaments, teams, and players, but critical to the overall process. Without these intricately important pieces to the puzzle, the esports industry would likely stagnate and lose a lot of it’s fluidity.
For those important people behind the scenes, a wide array of talents are essential to bringing a specific organization or business to new heights, and often times those efforts lead to other professional avenues that open new doors of opportunity.
Christian Bishop is an example of that – someone who has done solid work on the business side of things, understanding the importance of such things as networking and internet marketing, and is now seeing his career level up.
Earlier this year, Christian formally announced his departure from UK-based esports organization Method, to join Amazon as their new Directory of Twitch Properties, where he will be focusing on monetization of their first-party properties like Twitch Rivals, Twitch Con, and Twitch Gaming.
Christian discussed this, and much more, in an exclusive interview with DiskoPortals, and is not only a member of the Disko platform, but also listed in the new Business section of our Esports Directory.
“Working in video games everyday is a dream come true” he told me.
“Content creation has given many of us an opportunity to monetize gaming. I have worked with Twitch for many years and have always focused on empowering creators . Having an opportunity to serve as the Director of Twitch properties gives me a chance to work with the best programs in the world. I focus on monetization and help to build new programs for the Twitch Community. Twitch Rivals and Twitch Gaming are examples of the first party properties I work with. We also represent several 3rd parties like Team Liquid, Esports Awards, and the Game Awards.”
Christian and I first spoke early in 2021, and we immediately had symmetry due to our emphasis on networking. But, Christian also understands the critical importance of things such as Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and even more targeted processes such as Esports SEO, and this is perhaps what set him up for more success – the understanding that these pillars of success should never be ignored or underutilized.
“SEO and working through the Google machine is incredibly important” Bishop said. “This can very much make or break the success of a website or piece of content. Investing in SEO has been one of the most fruitful and rewarding decisions I have made with my media companies. I would love to see creators do more around SEO to drive traffic to their channels and content.
Discoverability and growth can be hard for a lot of creators, SEO might be one of the angles to break through.”
And Christian also has insight for those who are looking to breakthrough in esports, as a team or player, in 2022, and what specifically catches his attention in the space.
“Content creation is incredibly important” Bishop says. “Educate, Entertain or do both. Build and protect your brand. You can lose everything in a blink of an eye. Make good decisions
I believe authenticity and being vulnerable is a super power.
Personally, I enjoy exceptional game play and fun entertaining personalities. Value your community and take the time to pour back into the people investing in you.”
Bishop also talks about what changes may be on the horizon for the Esports industry, and even at Twitch.
“I believe esports teams and new operators in the space need to create more 1st party products and services” he says. “Too many teams are reliant on 3rd parties to drive their revenue opportunities. Get control of your own destiny independent from sponsorship and media rights.
Play to earn games and blockchain technology will make a big impact on our industry in 2022. This might provide the 1st party opportunities I referenced above for organizations to get to a sustainable financial place. Microsoft with their Blizzard/Activision acquisition is massive. We will see what the integration looks like and means for those esports titles.
Twitch has been a focal pillar for esports and competitive gaming for years. We will continue to invest and support the scene.”
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Connect with Christian on LinkedIn
Connect with Christian on Disko