EPTNEW YORK (Reuters)- Major League Gaming, the largest professional competitive video game league, will be expanding to new markets outside North America thanks to a new partnership with IMG, the global sports and entertainment company
IMG, which is run by billionaire private equity investor Ted Forstmann, will boost the profile of Major League Gaming, a league where players compete in video games like Microsoft's "Halo: Reach" and Activision Blizzard's "StarCraft 2" in tournaments across the U.S. and on the Internet.
IMG will focus on marketing the league in the UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil as well as in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, IMG Media President Michel Masquelier told Reuters.
To play professionally in the league, players have to first compete on the Internet in the "minor leagues." The league holds 750,000 matches a month online where players can gauge their ability before going pro, said Sundance DiGiovanni, co-founder of Major League Gaming.
IMG, which is run by billionaire private equity investor Ted Forstmann, will boost the profile of Major League Gaming, a league where players compete in video games like Microsoft's "Halo: Reach" and Activision Blizzard's "StarCraft 2" in tournaments across the U.S. and on the Internet.
IMG will focus on marketing the league in the UK, Germany, France, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil as well as in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, IMG Media President Michel Masquelier told Reuters.
To play professionally in the league, players have to first compete on the Internet in the "minor leagues." The league holds 750,000 matches a month online where players can gauge their ability before going pro, said Sundance DiGiovanni, co-founder of Major League Gaming.
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Well this seems to be Sundance's big announcement for this week, Sundance must be irritated that it got leaked before he had a chance to announce this.
long live eSports!
UPDATE: MLG officially announces IMG Partnership.
Under the terms of the agreement, IMG, utilizing the expertise of its IMG Media Group, will help build international brand awareness of MLG through distribution, programming and marketing agreements with select broadcast and broadband partners. IMG will work to increase traffic, convert users and drive media consumption across all MLG platforms especially in the gameplay area. The partners will work together to host regional championship events around the globe, identify new talent and expand the brand partnership platform to establish competitive gaming as a preeminent sport worldwide.
“Video gaming is the #1 activity amongst the 18-24 male demographic and global video game sales exceeded $50 billion in 2009,” said Michel Masquelier, President of IMG Media. “Gaming is truly a global phenomenon and we are very proud to partner with the market leader in the competitive gaming industry to elevate the sport to a new level.”
“Since our inception, our mission at MLG has been to bring competitive gaming to the legions of fans and gamers around the globe,” said Sundance DiGiovanni, co-founder and CEO, Major League Gaming. “We have now become the dominant competitive-videogame property and with IMG as our partner, we can further position MLG and gaming as a commanding sport worldwide.”
MLG exclusively targets the 40 million consumers in North America who have a passion for playing video games as a competitive social activity. It is recognized as the sanctioning body for both competitive professional and amateur gaming competition via in-person events and online activity.
MLG reaches roughly 4.5 million consumers each month online and attracts more than 4,000 new members daily at majorleaguegaming.com.
“Video gaming is the #1 activity amongst the 18-24 male demographic and global video game sales exceeded $50 billion in 2009,” said Michel Masquelier, President of IMG Media. “Gaming is truly a global phenomenon and we are very proud to partner with the market leader in the competitive gaming industry to elevate the sport to a new level.”
“Since our inception, our mission at MLG has been to bring competitive gaming to the legions of fans and gamers around the globe,” said Sundance DiGiovanni, co-founder and CEO, Major League Gaming. “We have now become the dominant competitive-videogame property and with IMG as our partner, we can further position MLG and gaming as a commanding sport worldwide.”
MLG exclusively targets the 40 million consumers in North America who have a passion for playing video games as a competitive social activity. It is recognized as the sanctioning body for both competitive professional and amateur gaming competition via in-person events and online activity.
MLG reaches roughly 4.5 million consumers each month online and attracts more than 4,000 new members daily at majorleaguegaming.com.
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