OverActive Media (OAM), previously known as The Ledger Group, is a

esports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

and

entertainment company Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousand ...

that fields teams across multiple esports titles through its subsidiaries, including the

Overwatch League The Overwatch League (OWL) is a professional esports league for the video game ''Overwatch'', produced by its developer, Blizzard Entertainment. The Overwatch League follows the model of other traditional North American professional sporting lea ...

and

Call of Duty League The Call of Duty League (CDL) is a professional esports league for the video game series '' Call of Duty'', produced by its publisher Activision. The Call of Duty League follows the model of the Overwatch League as well as other traditional N ...

. They also own esports organization

MAD Lions MAD Lions is a Spanish esports organisation owned by OverActive Media. Its main ''League of Legends'' team, which was rebranded from Splyce, competes in Europe's top-level league for the game, the LEC. Its secondary ''League of Legends'' team co ...

, competing in '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' and ''

League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for War ...

'' as part of Spain's SuperLiga Orange and the

League of Legends European Championship The ''League of Legends'' EMEA Championship (LEC) is the professional ''League of Legends'' esports league run by Riot Games in the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) region, in which ten teams compete. Each annual season of play is divid ...

, respectively.

History

OverActive Media's was originally branded as The Ledger Group, a Toronto-based group focused on blockchain-enabled companies. In April 2018, the company announced that it would look to expand in

franchises. The Ledger Group went on to make investments in Askott Entertainment and

Enthusiast Gaming Enthusiast Gaming is a Canadian digital media company specializing in video game journalism. Founded in 2014 by entrepreneur Menashe Kestenbaum, the company owns the websites ''Destructoid'' and The Escapist (magazine), ''Escapist Magazine'', a ...

, and after a $1.5 million investment in

Splyce Splyce (SPY) was a professional esports organization and media company based in Rochester, New York. Their ''League of Legends'' team was a franchise member of the LEC, Europe's top professional league for ''League of Legends''. Splyce announc ...

, they shifted from an investment platform to an ownership platform and rebranded to OverActive Media. In 2018, OAM and Splyce agreed to purchase a team, later branded as the

Toronto Defiant Toronto Defiant is a Canadian professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Defiant compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) and are a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2018, Toronto began play as one of eigh ...

, in the

for the league's upcoming 2019 season. On November 21, 2018, OAM announced that it entered an

agreement in principle In law, an agreement in principle is a stepping stone to a contract. Such agreements with regard to the principle are usually considered fair and equitable. Even if not all details are known, an ''agreement in principle'' may, for example, outline ...

to acquire Splyce. In 2019, OAM purchased a franchise spot in Activion-Blizzard's

, establishing

Toronto Ultra The Toronto Ultra is a Canadian professional Call of Duty League (CDL) esports team based in Toronto. Toronto Ultra is owned by OverActive Media. Toronto was announced as one of the first five cities to host a CDL team. According to ESPN E ...

. In July 2020, ''

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

'' reported that OverActive Media would be building a 7,000- to 10,000-seat esports arena at

Exhibition Place Exhibition Place is a publicly owned mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The site includes exhibit, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments ...

in Toronto to serve as the home arena to the Toronto Defiant and Toronto Ultra. The report was confirmed in February 2021, as OverActive Media announced the venue. The $500 million project is expected to be the home arena for their esports teams, as well as host mid-sized music concerts and other events. OAM was given full approval by the

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The current term began on November 15, 2022. Structure The cur ...

as of December 16, 2021. The arena is expected to

break ground Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...

in 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2025.

References

External links

OverActive Media
(company website) {{Toronto Defiant, state=collapsed Esports organizations Toronto Defiant