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Overwatch League: Report suggests Blizzard asked talent to take pay cuts

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Overwatch League: Report suggests Blizzard asked talent to take pay cuts
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The bad buzz is definitely piling up for Blizzard. A new report from journalist Richard Lewis for Dexerto indicates that the company has asked its broadcast talent to accept a reduction in their salaries for the 2020 season.

Overwatch League: Report suggests Blizzard asked talent to take pay cuts

In recent weeks, many Overwatch League talents have distanced themselves from Blizzard, including Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles, Erik "DoA" Lonnquist, Auguste "Semmler" Massonnat and Malik Forté.

Now, a report by Richard Lewis for Dexerto has learned that Activision Blizzard had pushed some Overwatch League broadcast talent to cut their salaries for what was already shaping up to be a turbulent new season.

Once again, the departure of Nate Nanzer was pointed out. With the former Commissioner no longer involved, the report reads, an important ally between the talent and the company was lost.

Since losing Nate, the broadcast team lost its advocate, and a lot of problems that had been patched up in the past suddenly didn’t have solutions anymore.
Anonymous on Blizzard Departures (Source)

Blizzard's request for talent to take a pay cut is apparently not new, and has been on the table for a while. However, given the reported good results for Season One, talent had been expecting a raise. One of the talents spoke to Nanzer, who had no idea what was going on.

When we realised how little some of the talent was being paid we actually agreed it would be better for some talent to forgo pay increases and instead make sure those on the lower end of the scale were properly compensated. With that, going into season two, most people had approximately a 5% pay increase, but it was hard fought. When we realised how little some of the talent was being paid we actually agreed it would be better for some talent to forgo pay increases and instead make sure those on the lower end of the scale were properly compensated. With that, going into season two, most people had approximately a 5% pay increase, but it was hard fought.
Anonymous on Blizzard Departures (Source)

For Blizzard, the cuts are explained by the reduction in work to be done for this third season, which will last less time (7 months) and with fewer working days (only two days per week). However, this does not take into account the many trips across the globe that will be required.

For Kotaku, Malik commented that he was not satisfied at all with the amount proposed by Blizzard, confirming Dexerto's report.

I can speak for myself and say that, after years of being a part of this community, traveling the world, interacting with fans, making shoulder content, advertisements that ran on national television, and lots of hard work— I was expecting a little more than what was proposed for 2020. I guess they didn’t think I was worth what I asked for, so we never reached a number that made sense for me to continue on.
Malik Forte on OWL Departures (Source)

After interviews with the various team members, Richard Lewis heard the same complaints several times about the potential disdain Blizzard executives would show toward broadcast crews.

As one team member stated, "it's clear they don't want our comments at all. They just want us to sit there and do the show and not have a say in what we talk about or what we present. For a lot of us, it's not even a question of money. We just want to do a show where we have a certain level of involvement."

Given the sentiment in the Overwatch community, it's entirely conceivable we see more departures in the run up to Season Three.

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Jean-Vincent Cannata
Durvil

Hearthstone / Legends of Runeterra / Overwatch / Magic Arena
Jeux de stratégie = <3, Jeux de rôles et de société = <3
"Il y a du bon en ce monde, monsieur Frodon, et il faut se battre pour cela."

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