Electronic Arts Discusses Possibility of TV Series from its Gaming IP & Acquisitions

Today, during Electronic Arts’ quarterly financial conference call for analysts and investors, chief executive officer Andrew Wilson was asked to comment on the possibility of creating TV series or similar content from EA’s IPs.

Wilson mentioned that video game IP is now some of the most culturally relevant IP in all of entertainment, and he believes that it’s going to continue to grow.

Due to that, it’s not unnatural to spawn scripted entertainment elements. Traditionally, those have not been big revenue drivers in and of themselves, but they can lift the overall engagement with a franchise delivering a one-two-punch driving growth in the business.

With interactive entertainment becoming more and more important in people’s lives, fans will want to experience it in many different modalities, some of which may be scripted entertainment.

Wilson concluded by mentioning that EA is “looking at any and all aspects that allow them to expand and their brands for their fanbase, but they’re doing it very thoughtfully and as part of their strategy of doing it profitably.”

Earlier in the call, chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen also talked about acquisitions and the upcoming pipeline, mentioning that the publisher has a Need for Speed game coming and three or four more things that they haven’t announced yet, and they’re always looking for ways to grow the portfolio year after year with new titles, new IP, expansion, as well as making acquisitions.

About acquisitions, Jorgensen added that right now EA is in “digest mode” (following the recent acquisition of Codemasters) but that doesn’t mean that they won’t “keep looking at everything going forward.”

Considering the recent wave of acquisitions, with the latest examples being Activision Blizzard by Microsoft and Bungie by Sony, it’s not surprising that the topic popped up multiple times during the conference.

If you’d like to learn more about Electronic Arts’ financial performance during the past quarter, you can read our dedicated article with plenty of info.