Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and WME-IMG have formed a partnership to create an eSports competitive gaming league, the companies announced Thursday.
Through the venture, Turner and WME-IMG will deliver competitive gaming events for all platforms including live fan experiences, televised coverage airing exclusively on TBS, and live digital event coverage and content extensions. Turner Studios in Atlanta will become the east coast epicenter for eSports competitive gaming, serving as the headquarters for the new league.
Leading video game publisher Valve Corporation’s popular “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” will be the featured game during the league’s first season. Turner Sports will produce the eSports competitions in association with WME-IMG, and facilitate ad sales and sponsorship opportunities surrounding the new league.
All aspects of the eSports league will be jointly managed by Turner Broadcasting and WME-IMG, with Turner Studios providing a state-of-the-art facility specifically created to showcase the live gaming competitions.
Slated to begin in 2016, the televised presentation of the competitive gaming events will feature 10 consecutive weeks of programming twice per year, the most extensive commitment to televised eSports programming to date. The league will air Friday nights on TBS, and include a regular season, playoffs and championship.
Additionally, digital coverage will include live daily competitive gaming content distributed Tuesday through Friday during each tournament week, as well as a live digital companion experience on Friday nights offered simultaneously with the TBS presentation. Digital content will also include behind-the-scenes event coverage and profiles on the eSports teams and competitors, with additional coverage available through Bleacher Report’s top-rated Team Stream app.
eSports is a term used to refer to organized, multiplayer video gaming competitions that are rapidly expanding in popularity on a global scale. According to data provided by NewZoo, global eSports viewership is more than 226 million people with the total expected to climb to 323 million by 2018.
Domestically, the eSports audience is currently 32 million people with anticipated growth to more than 50 million by 2017. Over half of adult eSports viewers are younger than 35 years old, based on a Superdata eSports Market Brief released earlier this year.
More details on the newly formed eSports league will be announced later this year.