TIME's Megan Friedman and Keith Wagstaff have written an article eSports' current standing in America as a preview to this weekend's MLG Anaheim event. Mike Morhaime's initial quote is quite interesting, and a statement to other game developer's out there. Additionally, there is hints that SC2 might actually be coming to TV sooner than later.
“I think that StarCraft is really the only game designed from the ground up to be an eSport,” says Mike Morhaime, CEO of Blizzard. “As a spectator, the whole asymmetry of information — meaning you can see things that the players don’t know — makes it fun to watch.”
Soon, these viewers won’t just be glued to their computers. In April, Major League Gaming and Twitch announced a partnership with CBS Interactive. Major League Gaming’s CEO, Sundance DiGiovanni, says his company was a part of CBS Interactive’s annual upfront presentation to advertisers, and there was enough sponsorship interest to start considering broadcasting live games on television.
This wouldn’t be the first attempt to broadcast eSports on American TV. In 2007, Marcus "djWHEAT" Graham worked with DirecTV on broadcasting games with the Championship Gaming Series. “It was a very big venture and a very expensive venture, and it was their attempt to try to bring the allure of gaming to television,” Graham says. But the financial crisis and a lull in competitive gaming led the show to shut down two years later. And even today, Major League Gaming produces an eSports-related talk show — that only airs internationally.
But to Sundane DiGiovanni, the timing may be right for eSports on TV. “We already do a ready-for-TV show (for online broadcasts),” he says. “We’ll maybe gussy up the sets a little bit, get a few more lights and some nice suits for everybody, but we’re pretty much ready to go.
"And even today, Major League Gaming produces an eSports-related talk show — that only airs internationally" please elaborate what exactly does mgl produce outside of the mlg circuit and arena. edit : I know they cut their content staff and State of the game went independent am i missing something or what?
On June 09 2012 01:43 nickbalev wrote: "And even today, Major League Gaming produces an eSports-related talk show — that only airs internationally" please elaborate what exactly does mgl produce outside of the mlg circuit and arena.
State of the game podcast. It's not technically MLG but it's being sponsored by it.
This is quite interesting. Are they going to broadcast it on CBS? I think if e-sports ever get to be on TV, we need some rules regarding swear words from the casters (just my thought, lol).
It was really interesting to see at the end of the article the possible soon existence of mlg on tv of some sort. you can really see the commercial break spots in their programming and they do a very high quality made for tv level of production I think.
the summer time is pretty baron for programming for the networks. wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of esport thing tested there before dreaming of the big tv season.
On Jun 8 2012 13:01<span style='color:#d20000'> (8 min)</span> TheSir wrote: "This weekend in Anaheim, Calif., Major League Gaming expects to break every viewing record they’ve ever set"
Not gonna happen, to much other stuff is happening this weekend. Interesting article though
This was quite a nice article Though I don't quite think that SC2 is the only game designed to be an E-Sport. Look at League of Legends, that game is an amazing E-Sport and has been from it's inception. Even Tribes it's new so it's audience is small for now though once it grows it'll be a monster in the scene. So no I don't agree with the notion that SC2 is the only game that was designed to be an E-Sport and to think so is arrogance of the highest level.
and there was enough sponsorship interest to start considering broadcasting live games on television.
That's pretty big news. Does CBS own G4 or Spike?
CBS Corporation (parent of CBS Interactive) owns the Showtime Networks, CBS Sports Network (formerly CBS College Sports Network), and (with Warner Bros) The CW. Prior to 2005, when it was known as Viacom, it owned the MTV Networks (MTV, VH1, Spike, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and several others). Now, Viacom is a separate company from CBS Corp. that has most of the cable TV networks from the "old" Viacom.
So to answer your question, they used to own Spike. At present, they don't have a network that's similar to it or G4.
the thing with MLG is that's ALL DAY, you can't realistically have a broadcast that's all day, especially with the huge amount of down time. I can see the Arenas being on TV because there isn't an open bracket to be waited on and all the players get started really quickly, but an MLG championship seems a little too hard to pull off unless the program only airs for like 2 hours and basically just does the best matches possible.
Sure I think now is a better time for esports on TV to work than it was back in 2007, but I still feel like it will be difficult considering how much down time there is and how long the event runs for. It wouldn't be so bad if there were fillers and interviews but how many fillers/interviews can you possibly do to keep people interested?
On June 09 2012 02:01 TheSir wrote: "This weekend in Anaheim, Calif., Major League Gaming expects to break every viewing record they’ve ever set"
Not gonna happen, to much other stuff is happening this weekend. Interesting article though
You mean like WCS(that MLG is streaming) and the BW mini tourney(that MLG is streaming)? They'll probably shatter live attendance records due to it basically being a mini blizzcon and a lot of people from E3 will probably go. On line they should do pretty damn well for themselves as well.
Also to the post above mine, being on all day isn't a problem. At least here in the United States Sunday is basically football(the oval shaped ball variety ) all day. Watching different teams play is the same as watching different players play. And you don't exactly have to watch all the games, only the last few hours on the last day do you not want to miss games. The real issue is commercials and timeframes. Sundance has already said how expensive it can be if you run late in a venue, running late on TV would cause a ton of issues.
On June 09 2012 02:28 emc wrote: the thing with MLG is that's ALL DAY, you can't realistically have a broadcast that's all day, especially with the huge amount of down time. I can see the Arenas being on TV because there isn't an open bracket to be waited on and all the players get started really quickly, but an MLG championship seems a little too hard to pull off unless the program only airs for like 2 hours and basically just does the best matches possible.
Sure I think now is a better time for esports on TV to work than it was back in 2007, but I still feel like it will be difficult considering how much down time there is and how long the event runs for. It wouldn't be so bad if there were fillers and interviews but how many fillers/interviews can you possibly do to keep people interested?
MLG was on tv twice before but that was with Halo and they only showed a few Team Slayer matches that usually only last 10~minutes I have no idea how they can get SC2 to work on tv.
On Jun 8 2012 13:01<span style='color:#d20000'> (8 min)</span> TheSir wrote: "This weekend in Anaheim, Calif., Major League Gaming expects to break every viewing record they’ve ever set"
Not gonna happen, to much other stuff is happening this weekend. Interesting article though
Uninformative post.
Can you please elaborate further?
Horrible times for Europeans and AFAIK koreans don't make up a large segment of the usual MLG viewers (I'm guessing amongst others because we don't provide korean casting). And ofcourse there's that American football thing and IIRC the European football championship starts sunday as well (could be wrong IDGAF about either football).
Maybe they'll set a attendance record but a stream viewer one won't happen, especially with how low quality MLG's free stream usually is.
On Jun 8 2012 13:01<span style='color:#d20000'> (8 min)</span> TheSir wrote: "This weekend in Anaheim, Calif., Major League Gaming expects to break every viewing record they’ve ever set"
Not gonna happen, to much other stuff is happening this weekend. Interesting article though
Uninformative post.
Can you please elaborate further?
Horrible times for Europeans and AFAIK koreans don't make up a large segment of the usual MLG viewers (I'm guessing amongst others because we don't provide korean casting). And ofcourse there's that American football thing and IIRC the European football championship starts sunday as well (could be wrong IDGAF about either football).
Maybe they'll set a attendance record but a stream viewer one won't happen, especially with how low quality MLG's free stream usually is.
there's no american football thing that i can think of going on, and the euro football champ is on earlier than MLG will be for the most part
On June 09 2012 02:14 Demonhunter04 wrote: Nice article, very positive about eSports.
In all honesty, probably paid for by Blizzard.
Which would not be a bad thing, shows that they care.
Dunno much about foreign news outlets, but isn't TIME a bit too big to allow itself to get bought articles by "gaming" companies?
He doesn't know what he's talking about. It's in the Tech section of Time Magazine..it's not like it's on the front page of BBC news. What else would you expect them to report on? MLG Spring is pretty much the biggest gaming story going on right now with the WCS, MLG Spring Championships, HOTS Beta test, KESPA tourney, LoL, Halo, and whatever the fuck else is going on. If Time didn't do a report on this, then I'd really like to know how to get that job, because it sounds like you don't have to pay attention at all.
Article was awesome, though I laughed at where they equated Boxer's fame to Grubby's:
Then there’s the fame. Just like ABC knows it will get big ratings if stars like Kobe Bryant or Lebron James are playing, Major League Gaming knows viewership will go up if fan favorites like Korean player Lim Yo-Hwan (a.k.a. BoxeR) or Dutch-born Manuel Schenkhuizen (a.k.a. Grubby) are featured in key matches.
Seriously though, great article, could have been loads worse. They really talked up MLG, Twitch, Day[9], everyone. For an article like that to come from an American website, I'm ecstatic.
On Jun 8 2012 13:01<span style='color:#d20000'> (8 min)</span> TheSir wrote: "This weekend in Anaheim, Calif., Major League Gaming expects to break every viewing record they’ve ever set"
Not gonna happen, to much other stuff is happening this weekend. Interesting article though
Uninformative post.
Can you please elaborate further?
Horrible times for Europeans and AFAIK koreans don't make up a large segment of the usual MLG viewers (I'm guessing amongst others because we don't provide korean casting). And ofcourse there's that American football thing and IIRC the European football championship starts sunday as well (could be wrong IDGAF about either football).
Maybe they'll set a attendance record but a stream viewer one won't happen, especially with how low quality MLG's free stream usually is.
there's no american football thing that i can think of going on, and the euro football champ is on earlier than MLG will be for the most part
A american poster on page 2 said sunday will be football all day for the states, and I don't know about you but when I've been drinking and watching football all day, be it american or european, I don't exactly feel like watching SC2 after that.
Personally, I dont like the fact that E sports or SC2 for that matter will be on live television. I liek the fact that its kinda a niche and only available online. Takes away from it I think. I dunno just my 2 cents.
On Jun 8 2012 13:01<span style='color:#d20000'> (8 min)</span> TheSir wrote: "This weekend in Anaheim, Calif., Major League Gaming expects to break every viewing record they’ve ever set"
Not gonna happen, to much other stuff is happening this weekend. Interesting article though
Uninformative post.
Can you please elaborate further?
Horrible times for Europeans and AFAIK koreans don't make up a large segment of the usual MLG viewers (I'm guessing amongst others because we don't provide korean casting). And ofcourse there's that American football thing and IIRC the European football championship starts sunday as well (could be wrong IDGAF about either football).
Maybe they'll set a attendance record but a stream viewer one won't happen, especially with how low quality MLG's free stream usually is.
there's no american football thing that i can think of going on, and the euro football champ is on earlier than MLG will be for the most part
A american poster on page 2 said sunday will be football all day for the states, and I don't know about you but when I've been drinking and watching football all day, be it american or european, I don't exactly feel like watching SC2 after that.
That poster was making a general point about the NFL being on TV all day on Sundays during the regular season as a reason why it wouldn't be strange to have SC2 MLG on TV all day. The NFL is not in season right now.
Sundance sounds a bit overconfident in that piece... throwing a suit on husky and day9 and having anna or rachel emcee in their best outfit isn't going to make the casual viewer tune in and watch a whole series. I think SC should take a page out of the TV broadcast of tennis: the vast majority of people don't really care if random #100 in the world plays #90, they want to see Federer/Djokovic/Nadal/Sharapova/etc, the same is gonna have to be true of sc with the big names in TV and the preliminaries elsewhere.
On June 09 2012 03:45 iky43210 wrote: if sc2 was designed as an esport from the ground up, they should've went for the F2P model.
Kinda hard to have esport/competitive game when there is a money barrier. See broodwar, CS, CS-clones, dota, LoL etc.
It would definitely have helped, but I think it's clear they weren't designing it *only* to be an esport. They need to earn a reasonable profit on the game, and the royalties they get from esports will not get them there. (If in the future it looks like they could be very substantial, I bet they'll switch it to F2P.) The only way to make money from a F2P game is to have in-game purchases. I don't know how that would have worked in a game like SC2. Maybe you buy extra campaign missions? Or portraits or something? It would have been very hard.
And it's not like nothing has succeeding in this way while costing money. BW was largely played in PC bangs, right? which charged something. Everyone has to pay for their first chess set or poker chips or baseball bat, yet those things seem to have gotten pretty big and competitive.
On Jun 8 2012 13:01<span style='color:#d20000'> (8 min)</span> TheSir wrote: "This weekend in Anaheim, Calif., Major League Gaming expects to break every viewing record they’ve ever set"
Not gonna happen, to much other stuff is happening this weekend. Interesting article though
Uninformative post.
Can you please elaborate further?
Horrible times for Europeans and AFAIK koreans don't make up a large segment of the usual MLG viewers (I'm guessing amongst others because we don't provide korean casting). And ofcourse there's that American football thing and IIRC the European football championship starts sunday as well (could be wrong IDGAF about either football).
Maybe they'll set a attendance record but a stream viewer one won't happen, especially with how low quality MLG's free stream usually is.
IPL was at horrible times for Europeans as well, yet set the record for online viewership. This MLG has more hype and anticipation around it than any tournament I can remember. With all the stuff they are doing with Blizzard (WCS, HotS) and the Kespa tournament, there is certainly an electric buzz around MLG Anaheim.
And not to mention, they have LoL, the key to breaking any viewership record. MLG Providence broke it when they ran LoL. IEM WC had it when they broke the record. IPL had it when they broke the record. LoL is why these records have been broken over and over.
So combine LoL with the most hyped SC2 tournament ever, it adds up to record breaking stream numbers.
I don't see how being on TV will change a lot, the UFC is on TV and the fighters are lucky to make 5 figures unless they are top top dogs, I guess it is a step forward but I can't see it changing much for the players apart from the elite few; and for a westerner looking into a career path esports will still be a risk
On June 09 2012 04:56 mememolly wrote: I don't see how being on TV will change a lot, the UFC is on TV and the fighters are lucky to make 5 figures unless they are top top dogs, I guess it is a step forward but I can't see it changing much for the players apart from the elite few; and for a westerner looking into a career path esports will still be a risk
Isn't it a big risk to devote your life to trying to become an NFL or NBA player? Or are we talking about the scene as a whole with all types of jobs? Or is it about the risk vs the reward for going down the path of a professional player in those sports?
On Jun 8 2012 13:01<span style='color:#d20000'> (8 min)</span> TheSir wrote: "This weekend in Anaheim, Calif., Major League Gaming expects to break every viewing record they’ve ever set"
Not gonna happen, to much other stuff is happening this weekend. Interesting article though
Uninformative post.
Can you please elaborate further?
Horrible times for Europeans and AFAIK koreans don't make up a large segment of the usual MLG viewers (I'm guessing amongst others because we don't provide korean casting). And ofcourse there's that American football thing and IIRC the European football championship starts sunday as well (could be wrong IDGAF about either football).
Maybe they'll set a attendance record but a stream viewer one won't happen, especially with how low quality MLG's free stream usually is.
there's no american football thing that i can think of going on, and the euro football champ is on earlier than MLG will be for the most part
Eurocup started today but you have a lot of big events this weekend like NBA playoffs, NCAA, NHL finals, UFC, French Open finals, MLB draft/opening, WSOP etc etc etc. And as far as i know the majority who watch SC2 are either people who play the game themselves or people who like sports in general (SC2 is the only game who comes close to it).
If MLG wants to break records they need new viewers and with so many big events this weekend that will almost be impossible. And it doesn't really matter if other events don't overlap with MLG schedule, especially for Europeans it wont matter.
So from where does MLG want to get those new viewers? E3 promotion wont help as we saw on the MLG E3 streams (it's pretty known that most gamers want to play games instead of watching anyway). And it's not the best event to start watching SC2 cause the schedule is a complete mess for new people with 3 separate tournaments on 1 schedule, not to mention only like 30% of the main tournament (the championship) will be available to people who dont buy a pass (which new viewers wont buy)
I think they wont even reach 50k viewers average on the SC2 streams this weekend. I just dont see any reason why they would be able to break viewing records. (SC2 minded that is)
Am I a bad person if I hope that there's some kind of critical b.net failure when it gets on tv? I want to see embarrassment, money lost, people fired, a complete disaster. I would buy tickets to see this.
EPT
I'd love to see SC2 on TV sometime soon!
