(Editor’s Note: The following appeared in Esports and the Law, a newsletter by Hackney Publications and sponsored by Skadden Arps that tracks the legal side of the esports industry. Subscriptions are free and available at https://esportsandthelaw.com/#subscribe)
When United Talent Agency (UTA) hired away Ophir Lupu from Creative Artists Agency (CAA) nine years ago and asked him to lead its then-nascent gaming practice, the agency knew it was getting a rising star.
Lupu has not disappointed, building out what has become one of the gaming industry’s
leading pools of talent.
His productivity aside, Lupu has also proven to be one of those rare executives that can adapt to the marketplace with creative solutions. Witness how he has used the pandemic to build a robust community at UTA, a phenomenon that was profiled in April in the Hollywood Reporter: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/quarantine-uta-turns-gaming-stay-connected-1289602.
Industry observers like Michael Folger, a senior associate at Skadden, believe Lupu and UTA will emerge from the current crisis stronger than ever. His track record and the influence he will undoubtedly have on the industry make him a great candidate for a brief interview, which follows:
Question: Ophir, how did you personally get involved with UTA’s eSports and gaming initiatives?
Answer: I have been running UTA’s Gaming Division since I joined the company in 2011. Our department represents best-in-class game developers by sourcing and negotiating publishing deals as well as advising on investments and acquisitions. A few years ago, my good friend Sam Wick (Head of UTA Ventures) and I spearheaded UTA’s investment in Cloud9, a leading global esports organization that manages championship teams across League of Legends, Overwatch, Counter-Strike, and many others. That investment gave us a better understanding of the broader esports and game streaming landscape. With that knowledge, it became obvious to us that UTA needed to build a much deeper connection to the esports business. After several months of meeting as many people as we could, we acquired management company Everyday Influencers and its sister company, digital esports agency Press X, which provided us with an incredible roster of agents and clients. I am very proud of our division’s continued expansion, and I would argue that it is among the most well-respected groups across the gaming industry.
Q: What led UTA to take such significant steps into eSports and video gaming?
A: UTA has always challenged itself to be forward-thinking and entrepreneurial in its growth strategy. Gaming is one of the largest and most rapidly expanding segments of media. UTA had identified this as a growth area nearly a decade ago, and we have remained committed to expanding the landscape ever since.
Q: What legal issues arising in the eSports industry are UTA’s clients facing?
A: Like most young and fast-growing business areas, esports is experiencing a very natural set of growing pains. The business has hyper-matured in the past few years as investors have poured a lot of money into the ecosystem. As a result, the expectations surrounding gamers’ responsibilities and professional services have led to some significant, but very necessary, challenges. There have been questions about the differing roles of agents vs. managers, standard commission rates, whether a team has the authority to manage its players, and the role of the Players’ Association in any of the franchised leagues. These rules are all being written in real-time.
