Houston Outlaws acquired from Immortals Gaming Club by Beasley Media Group

Beasley Media Group, a subsidiary of Beasley Broadcast Group, has announced the acquisition of the Houston Outlaws Overwatch League brand from Immortals Gaming Club. While financial details of the acquisition have not yet been disclosed, the Outlaws will continue to remain in Houston and represent the Houston, Austin, and San Antonio areas.

"The acquisition of the Houston Outlaws significantly expands our growing esports platform," said CEO of Beasley Media Group Caroline Beasley. "The Houston Outlaws represent a rare investment opportunity, as there are only 20 Overwatch League teams in the world, and the transaction partners Beasley with Blizzard Entertainment and its parent company, Activision Blizzard, a leading global developer and publisher of interactive entertainment content and services."

This move comes after Immortals Gaming Club bought out Infinite Esports & Entertainment. Immortals already owned the Los Angeles Valiant so were told to sell the Outlaws team. There was also a CS:GO team playing under the iconic OpTic name that felt forced to disband as old contracts were making it impossible to leave nor sign new players while IGC looked to sell them and focus on MIBR.

OpTic lives on in the form of OpTic Gaming Los Angeles, a Call of Duty team that will be participating in the new franchised Call of Duty League from next year.

Beasley Media Group invested in Renegades in April, so the company has some experience in the esports industry and Beasley’s acquisition of the Outlaws marks its third venture in esports with investments in a multi-team esports organization (Renegades) and CheckpointXP, a weekly syndicated lifestyle show which was also the first college-based esports show in the US.

Caroline Beasley further commented on the purchase, "The acquisition of the Houston Outlaws furthers our revenue and cash flow diversification strategies. We believe the power of our media footprint, including 65 highly-rated radio stations in large- and mid-sized markets, combined with our 24/7 coverage of esports news, will allow us to build the value of the Outlaws franchise through a range of revenue sources, including ticket sales, advertising, sponsorship, licensing, e-commerce, and other partnerships."

CEO of Immortals Gaming Club Ari Segal said of the deal, "As ongoing owners in the Overwatch League through our Los Angeles Valiant franchise, we are thrilled to welcome Beasley Media Group, Caroline Beasley, Chris Roumayeh, and the entire Beasley/Team Renegades group to the Overwatch League."

The Houston Outlaws will be one of the teams participating in the third season of the Overwatch League next year, with their first scheduled matches on the 15-16th February weekend against Florida Mayhem and Washington Justice.