Digital Sports Mgmt represents leading brands such as Warner Bros and Xbox, and influencers such as Danny Aarons, ShaunaGames and AJ
London, UK – 21 September 2022 – YMU today announce the integration of leading sports marketing, gaming, and entertainment agency, Digital Sports Mgmt (DSM), into their global YMU Sports division.
This exciting expansion sees YMU gain a majority stake in DSM and marks the group’s first move into the world of gaming and sports marketing. The merger comes at a time of growth for YMU as they further develop their sports offering and continue to establish their reputation as one of the most innovative, progressive, and forward-thinking talent management companies in the world.
Launched in 2016 by founders Rob Wadsworth and Tom Henderson, DSM is at the forefront of the sports marketing, entertainment, and gaming industry. Trusted by leading brand clients such as EA Sports, Sorare, Avery Dennison and Warner Bros, they also represent some of the world’s best gaming talent, including Danny Aarons, ShaunaGames, and AJ3.
Working collaboratively, DSM will leverage YMU’s extensive global footprint, talent management expertise and elite brand clients to break new ground in the ever-growing sports and gaming industry. This will see DSM’s gaming and esports talent benefit from the support of YMU’s unrivalled global management services.
The merger will also allow YMU Sports to expand its service offering to include esports consultancy, sports marketing, sponsorship brokerage, licensing, and live production. Further enhancing the expertise and support that can be provided to current and future clients.
Tom Henderson and Rob Wadsworth, Co-Founders and Directors, DSM, said: “YMU and Digital Sport Mgmt’s partnership strengthens our position at the crossroads where sport, gaming, technology, and entertainment meet and interact. Our collective expertise will enrich the services we provide our talent and brand clients and will allow us both to scale into new markets. YMU is the perfect partner to expedite our business plan globally and in turn extend the YMU Group’s premium services into the future.”
Mary Bekhait, Group CEO, YMU said: “We are thrilled to join forces with Digital Sports Mgmt and diversify our Sports division into gaming and esports, marketing activation, and sponsorship. In Rob and Tom, we have found two phenomenal, industry-leading executives and I’ve been incredibly impressed with what they have built with Digital Sports Mgmt. Entering into gaming and esports has been one of YMU’s key strategic objectives and with the acquisition of DSM I am pleased to be able to offer further, exceptional expertise and bespoke knowledge to our current and future global sports clients.”
-ENDS-
Video assets and imagery available to download here
Press contact information: george.martindale@dawbell.com
YMU Group and YMU Sports: april.elliott-boza@ymugroup.com
DSM: info@digitalsportsmgmt.com
Notes to editors:
About YMU Group
YMU is a global talent management company for elite clients in sport, music, entertainment, art, literary, social, and business management, existing to discover and amplify new voices. They represent leading athletes, artists, actors, social creators, producers, TV personalities and experts across multiple offices worldwide including Steve Aoki, The Rolling Stones, Nick Cave, Pentatonix, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Francis Bourgeois, Graham Norton, and Tyler Adams, among others.
The YMU Sports division represents athletes in football and rugby with players in English, European, North and South American leagues in football and within all major Rugby Union playing territories across the globe.
www.ymugroup.com
About Digital Sports Mgmt
Digital Sports Mgmt connects brands to world sport through gaming, influencer marketing, sports sponsorship services, activation and live production. Founded by Rob Wadsworth and Tom Henderson in 2016, the founder’s experience is deeply rooted in the video games and digital space, having both worked on the biggest sports video game in the world, FIFA, for a combined 20 years, spearheading the games’ licensing and sponsorship activation within global football.
Now working with a variety of brands, rights holders, platforms, influencers, presenters, footballers and pro gamers, DSM have fused together a unique agency at the crossroads of sports, digital, gaming and technology.
Brand partners include: Avery Dennison, Sorare, Xbox, Warner Bros (Ted Lasso), EA Sports, The FA, and BenQ.
Talent represented includes: ChuBoi, Danny Aarons, AJ3, ShaunaGames, ReevHD, ZwebackHD, Brandon Smith and Richard Buckley.
www.digitalsportsmgmt.com
