Sideshow On Exclusivity, Esports Morals, And His And Platchat's Future

After four seasons in the Overwatch League, the casting pair of Josh "Sideshow" Wilkinson and Brennon "Bren" Hook are unlikely to renew their contract as talent on the main broadcast. After negotiations went silent in early December, the team is looking to make content with their company around the successful Overwatch and VALORANT podcasts 'Platchat'. We sat down with Sideshow to discuss what was part of the equation when determining their asking price.

We summarised the most important talking points of our hour-long interview. However, given the importance of nuance in the discussion, we encourage you to listen to Sideshow’s explanations in full.

Why Sideshow Hasn’t Signed A Contract With OWL For 2022

• Sideshow says that exclusivity was not a deal killer but something that he takes into consideration when evaluating the deal and because he likes career breadth, it weighs quite heavily and has to be accounted for.

"I don’t think Overwatch League have been predatory about their exclusivity at all"

• He was able to work some official VALORANT events in 2021 as he worked it into his contract.
• They last communicated with the League regarding the contract in early December, and they were "given the strong impression that [the League] consider that to be it for our negotiation period heading into 2022". They waited a couple of weeks to see if this was a hardball strategy and then came public with the information to inform the industry that they are available for work.
• The impending acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft did not enter the equation as Sideshow didn’t know of it at the time of interacting with the League about his contract.
• The trajectory of Overwatch has also been a consideration in evaluating what his time would be worth in 2022.

HOPEIUM?

• Sideshow and co are looking at co-streams especially for the exciting matches in 2022.
• Clean-feed co-streams have been made accessible to Overwatch League teams, so there is precedent for incorporating live footage outside of the main broadcast.
• Sideshow thinks co-streaming is a big potential growth factor, getting more viewers that aren’t hardcore regulars involved.

The Blizzard 2021 Scandal And Esports Morals

• Sideshow chose to speak out during the Activision Blizzard 2021 scandal and the handling of it, explaining "I think the issue is so important that it transcends your duties of professionalism to the company that you work for".
• Sideshow says that he isn’t "some valiant principled guy that left because it got too sour" for him and that it was just one thing to think about in evaluating the decision.
• Sideshow thinks there are varying levels of agency someone working in esports can have in moving company policy. While acquisitions are challenging to fight, protesting sponsorships appear doable.

Sideshow’s Career

• Sideshow says his income is diversified enough that missing out on the OWL contract won’t hurt him to the point of financial insecurity.
• Sideshow says that he enjoys broadcast work, but also likes to be good at a wide range of things while only working to perfect some of them.
• Bren & Sideshow switched to casting from deskwork because they wanted a challenge and the Overwatch League didn’t know what it wanted the desk to be yet. The remote work and leaning into the scuffed situation helped shape the desk into what is now.
• Sideshow thinks it’s incredibly challenging to stay on top of two esports when trying to understand what’s going on analytically, as the VOD grind takes a large amount of time. He is a big believer in "preparation builds confidence".
• When trying to make it in esports, it’s way easier to enter a new esport and ride the wave into relevance.

The Ideas Behind Platchat

• Mr.X pushed the guys to come together for the podcast to come together.
• The Overwatch audience seemed to like looser, less edgy, things you might have missed in the match, organic discussion among friends.
• Platchat as a company will stay agile in what they might consider but are looking to focus on Overwatch and VALORANT in 2022 for now.
• Sideshow thinks their ability to be polished broadcast talent while being co-streamers should give them an edge.