Videogame Leagues Get Televised

Posted on December 8, 2006

The Red Herring reports that professional game leagues like Major League Gaming (MLG) and the World Series of Video Games (WSVG) are heading to television thanks to deals with television networks like Comcast and CBS.

The Comcast deal is a partnership with professional game league Major League Gaming (MLG) and will include distribution of a MLG television show on Comcast's On-Demand service and also the company's GameInvasion.net web site. Comcast also opened access to GameInvasion, which was previously only available to the company's high-speed Internet service customers. The site will also feature videos from G4 Television, GameTrailers.com, and IGN.
Yesterday, the World Series of Video Games (WSVG) unveiled its own network TV partnership, announcing a series of deals with CBS, CSTV, and HD network Voom that will bring the footage to a major U.S. network for the first time. The deal will collectively bring some 20 hours of content to U.S. viewers. The WSVG also said it is investigating international distribution for the content.

The article says the coverage on CBS will begin with a one-hour special covering some of the professional gamers, including star player Johnathan Fatal1ty Wendel. Wendel is already big enough that he has his own line of apparel and accessories.

It is about time the pro gamers have their fifteen minutes of televised fame. The competitions also might be more exciting with the help of professional announcers.

PROFESSIONAL GAMERS