Turner Broadcasting System and WME | IMG have formed a new strategic partnership to create an eSports competitive gaming league. Through the venture, Turner and WME | IMG will deliver competitive gaming events for all platforms including premium live fan experiences, televised coverage airing exclusively on TBS and extensive, high-quality 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 and primary operations facility for the live gaming experience.
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 - including the live event experience - 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 - airing Friday nights on TBS.
In 2016, eSports tournaments will be televised twice per year with each 10-week period including a regular season, playoffs and championship. Both tournaments will include eSports teams facing off in competition while playing Valve's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
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 eSports coverage available through Bleacher Report's top-rated Team Stream App.
eSports is one of the fastest growing entertainment genres among young adults around the world, says Lenny Daniels, president of Turner Sports. We're looking forward to creating a tremendous live event atmosphere, leveraging the infrastructure and expertise within Turner Studios, and presenting the competitions in an innovative way throughout our portfolio of leading brands.
We are proud to establish a leadership position in this rapidly growing arena, which I see as a tent pole for the next chapter of TBS, said Kevin Reilly, president of TBS and TNT, chief creative officer for Turner. The level of rabid fandom and engagement that we see in this world is extraordinary and we aim to up the experience for both the players and fans alike and provide a cutting-edge live experience on both linear and digital TBS platforms.
The eSports environment is purpose-built for a generation that consumes content across multiple platforms and seeks unique live experiences, says Mark Shapiro, chief content officer, WME | IMG. We're proud to be partnering with Turner to give competitive gaming a first-of-its-kind platform to meet the needs of the industry's growing fan base and attract new audiences around the world.
WME | IMG is constantly seeking new ways to help fans enjoy the eSports they love and attract more fans to the sport, says Tobias Sherman, head of WME | IMG's eSports division. This venture is a great example of our commitment to growing the eSports industry, and Turner is the perfect partner to make this a reality. We've so enjoyed working with Valve and the teams through this endeavor, and we're excited for the future.
WME | IMG has deep expertise in the eSports world. The company's eSports business operates as a full-service team management, marketing and representation firm with specialties in brand consulting, digital and live event management, marketing, and licensing. Additionally, the company is involved in more than 800 live events around the world each year and is the largest independent producer and distributor of sports programming in the world, distributing more than 32,000 hours each year from more than 200 organizations and events.
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.
The addition of eSports competitive gaming is one of many live events set to air on TBS in early 2016. The network's Spring slate will also feature the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Final Four, including TBS's first-ever telecast of the National Championship game, as well as the iHeartRadio Music Awards. TBS's upcoming live event programming will also include the first-ever Live Nation Music Awards - co-executive produced with IMG - in June and Turner Sports' annual coverage of the Major League Baseball Postseason in October.
More details on the newly formed eSports league - including the schedule of competitive events, along with locations and programming information - will be announced later this year.
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
29/04/2024
Premier Sports, an Irish-based premium sports broadcaster, has selected QuickLink's Remote Commentary solution for introducing professional, high-quality re...
29/04/2024
The awards celebrate the craft of behind-the-scenes TV talent and the best programmes of 2023
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: April 29, 2024
The awards cel...
29/04/2024
The team at Milk had to create and deliver the VFX and environment work for the royal residences featured in the drama from scratch
By Jenny Priestley
Publis...
29/04/2024
CEO Bob Bakish is expected to leave the company as early as today, with a new leadership committee likely to run the company on an interim basis
By Jenny Pries...
29/04/2024
Albena Ivanova, director, media and entertainment and strategic products at CHAOS Media talks to TVBEurope about her route into the industry
By TVBEurope Staff...
29/04/2024
The acquisition gives Grand Technix the opportunity to expand its footprint in the audio visual and broadcast technology sectors
By Jenny Priestley
Published...
29/04/2024
29 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces James J. Robinson's debut feature First Light
First Light
Principal Photography is underway on Firs...
29/04/2024
Capitol Broadcasting recently became the inaugural company honored with inductio...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
27/04/2024
On April 26, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik joined CNBC's Mor...
27/04/2024
PORTLAND, Oregon Audinate Group Limited, the developer of the Dante AV-over-IP solution, announced significant new additions to Dante Connect, its cloud-based D...
27/04/2024
TORONTO Bell Media has launched 10 English and French-language FAST channels featuring entertainment, factual, news, and sports programming. The new free stream...
27/04/2024
An extensive new analysis of the news segments in the broadcast evening news programs of ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS has found that broadcasters devoted most of their...
27/04/2024
GERMANTOWN, Md. EchoStar's Hughes Network Systems has opened a new manufacturing facility and private 5G incubation center in Germantown, Maryland....
27/04/2024
Harry Pappas, one of three brothers who founded Pappas Telecasting Companies in 1971, died April 24. He was 78 years old....
27/04/2024
ATLANTA and LONDON Mexican telecommunications and broadcast company Televisa has selected Synamedia for an overhaul of its broadcast distribution....
27/04/2024
Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this surve...
27/04/2024
SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
SDVI, the leading platform provider for clo...
27/04/2024
Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Cert...
27/04/2024
Charter Communications reported higher first-quarter profits despite continued cord-cutting and competition for broadband customers....
27/04/2024
Two environmentally-focused groups are partnering to engage the unscripted TV world in finding better ways to address climate change. Reality of Change is an ec...
27/04/2024
Sarah Garcia has been promoted to weekend anchor at KTLM McAllen, Texas, known as Telemundo 40. Starting April 27, she will anchor Noticias Telemundo 40 weekend...
27/04/2024
CBS Sports said it launched a new 24-hour free, ad supported streaming television (FAST) channel devoted to the UEFA Champions League....
27/04/2024
Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts received $35.4 million in compensation in 2023, up 11% from the previous year, according to a proxy statement filed by th...
27/04/2024
Art Happens Here With John Lithgow, which sees the actor study dance, ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz with students in Los Angeles, debuts on PBS ...
27/04/2024
Remember Leave It to Beaver? Bewitched? Dragnet? When cable ratings were rising?...
27/04/2024
Next up for the weekend binge at Catchy Comedy is Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Every weekend, Catchy Comedy features The Catchy Binge, a marathon of a classic sitcom....
26/04/2024
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...
26/04/2024
[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...
26/04/2024
Once again this year, SGL Carbon opened its doors to interested children and young people. On the occasion of the German Girls and Boys Day, which took place on...
26/04/2024
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x
Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century
In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
Turner Broadcasting System and WME | IMG have formed a new strategic partnership to create an eSports competitive gaming league. Through the venture, Turner and WME | IMG will deliver competitive gaming events for all platforms including premium live fan experiences, televised coverage airing exclusively on TBS and extensive, high-quality live digital event coverage and content extensions. 
