Professional Development

Comcast Spectacor’s new joint esports venture launches, with Joe Marsh as CEO

It's the latest in a long string of announcements about Philly's growing esports industry.

T1 League of Legends team. (Photo courtesy of T1 Entertainment & Sports)

Philadelphia’s esports footprint continues to grow.

Back in February, Comcast Spectacor announced a partnership with Korean telecomms giant SK Telecom to launch a joint esports organization.

Tuesday, the corporations officially launched the company, T1 Entertainment & Sports, which will operate in Philadelphia, Seoul and Los Angeles, and announced its CEO and COO.

T, will build on Seoul-based SK Telecom’s existing esports operations — its T1 League of Legends team has three World Championships under its belt. And the new company will also comprise competitive Fortnite, PUBGSuper Smash Bros, Hearthstone and Apex Legends teams.

“The launch of T1 marks an exciting moment for Comcast Spectacor and our partners at SK Telecom,” said Dave Scott, chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor. “T1 immediately becomes one of the premier esports organizations in the world, and we are looking forward to strengthening its presence in this dynamic space as we move forward.”

Joe Marsh. (Courtesy photo)

Comcast also announced Tuesday that Joe Marsh, who was most recently chief business officer for Comcast’s Spectacor Gaming Division and the Philadelphia Fusion Overwatch League team, will be CEO of T1, and will oversee global operations in each city.

John Kim, founder of Akshon Media and former CEO of Meta Gaming in Seoul, has been named chief operating officer of the venture and is based in Seoul full-time.

“I’m honored to lead T1 as we enter into a promising chapter of growth,” said Marsh, a grad of Millersville and Villanova universities, in a statement. “SK Telecom T1 has a rich history of success and we will build on those successes and celebrate new victories as we expand into new markets.”

The release stated that the Philadelphia Fusion team remains a separate entity from the T1 organization, but still resides under the Comcast Spectacor brand.

The T1 news is the latest in a long string of announcements in Philly’s esports industry. Last week, Nerd Street Gamers announced a $12 million Series A round of fundraising, and in late September, Comcast broke ground of the esports arena coming to the Philadelphia Sports Complex in 2021.

The Wells Fargo Center also held the international Overwatch Finals last month, bringing thousands of esports fans to the South Philly.

At the groundbreaking of the Fusion Arena, Scott called the event a “Super Bowl moment.”

“We like this space — it’s young, digital, diverse and global,” he said. “It’s a space we really want to be in.”

Companies: Philadelphia Fusion / Comcast

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

16 places to responsibly dispose of old electronics in Philadelphia

An interactive timeline of Philly’s tech ecosystem in 2024

How 5 orgs help local businesses achieve success

Expect high-speed internet at 100 Philly rec centers in 2025, Verizon says

Technically Media