Major League Gaming Gets $10 Million Investment

Professional gaming league Major League Gaming (MLG) Inc. has announced that it has secured $10 million in series A funding from Ritchie Capital. According to the company, the financing will help the company continue to transform competitive video game play into a mass market, global, sports media business. The company also announced that Matthew Bromberg, former General Manager of Moviefone and AOL Games, has joined the company as President and COO. Bromberg will focus on building out MLG's media properties business. Prior to joining the company, he spent six years at Time Warner, first as general manager of MovieFone and then as the general manager of AOL Games. Previously, Matthew was at CMP Media, most recently as Publisher and General Manager of the TechWeb Network. Currently, MLG produces an annual 7-city pro tour and championship; exclusively manages a roster of the top gamers in the world; and produces online and broadcast-quality programming that showcases MLG pros and the genre. It is notable because, instead of concentrating on more 'hardcore' PC titles like many previous pro gaming entities, many of its competitions have been in console titles such as Halo 2 and Super Smash Bros. "An industry with the broad participation and profound cultural impact of video gaming demands a more structured media-business involvement to support, expand, and energize it," said Tom Crowley, Managing Director, Ritchie Capital Ventures. "We believe that MLG is uniquely positioned to deliver on the player, fan, and sponsor requirements for legitimate, global, video game competition across all live and media platforms."