Overwatch League signs Bud Light as sponsor; Riot Games joins Diversity Initiative; Samsung develops Vertical TV.
Overwatch League Signs Bud Light as Sponsor
Activision Blizzard Inc.’s Overwatch League signed ABI Inbev, makers of Bud Light beer, as a new sponsor. Bud Light joins a growing list of Overwatch sponsors including Toyota, Intel, and Coca-Cola. Bud Light will be the ‘official beer’ of the League and will also sponsor the team’s broadcasts on ESPN2 and ABC, according to Socaltech.
Riot Games Joins Diversity Initiative
In other gaming news, VentureBeat reports Sawtelle-based Riot Games will join the Reboot Representation Tech Coalition, an initiative led by McKinsey & Company and Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures to promote diversity in computer fields and to encourage technology companies to hire more black, Latina, and Native American women. Riot has been accused of gender discrimination by female employees. The company has since hired a chief diversity officer and joins fellow Coalition participants, which include Adobe, Microsoft Corp., Verizon and Dell.
Samsung introduced a television optimized to show social content such as Snapchat and Instagram stories, which are filmed vertically. The Sero television can turn vertically and sync with a smartphone using near-field communication technology. The television can be used for mobile gaming, browsing social network photos or social shopping, Variety reports. The Sero is not yet available in the U.S. but sells for roughly $1,600 in South Korea.
Tech reporter Samson Amore can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 556-8335. Follow him on Twitter @samsonamore.
