• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, August 1, 2016

At a time when it looked as if video-based ad trade bureaus might be consolidating a new one is entering the game, literally. The so-called eSports Advertising Bureau has been formed by a group of organizers to develop an advertising marketplace and trade practices around a popular new genre of competitive video gaming.

The new bureau, which is being organized by a group of advisory board members including Turner, Twitch, Major League Gaming (a division of Activision Blizzard), The Madison Square Garden Company, Canoe and Magid Advisors.

The group announced the new organization late last week, and named cable TV industry consultant Stuart Lipson its executive director, but it wasn’t clear what its bylaws are or whether advertisers and agencies would also be members, or how it might work with other industry ad trade bureaus such as the Video Advertising Bureau, which has been striving to consolidate the marketplace since rebranding itself from the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau last year.

In a statement, the organization said it was “organized to provide marketers with tools so they can confidently invest media dollars to a sports category that is still widely unknown to advertising brands.”