E-Sports will be broadcast on TBS starting in 2016, according to a report on the Daily Dot Wednesday evening.
The report states that the original “Super Station” has formed an agreement between Valve and WME|IMG talent agency to form an E-Sports league featuring Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
TBS, which also airs Major League Baseball, NBA, The Conan O’Brien Show, and a number of comedic re-runs, is also planning to develop complimentary programming that features the players and team, along with documentaries on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive itself.
Executives from the Turner Broadcasting Camp and WME|IMG E-Sports group complimented each other in press releases, with WME|IMG’s Tobias Sherman noting:
“WME | IMG is constantly seeking new ways to help fans enjoy the eSports they love and attract more fans to the sport. 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.”
Turner’s Chief Creative Officer Kevin Reilly added that they were “proud to establish a leadership position” in the E-Sports broadcasting arena, and that “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.”
For those unfamiliar, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is a multi-player first person shooter that was released by Valve on its Steam platform back in August of 2012. The game has grown in popularity and is now rivaling mega-viewer magnets like DOTA2 and League of Legends.
ESPN earlier this year tried their hands at the E-Sports broadcasting game with a show dedicated to a Heroes of the Storm tournament prior to the title’s release. Your’s truly wrote about his impressions of that show, along with my pontifications of how E-Sports should be presented for a mainstream audience, which you can read right here.
No dates have been announced for the launch of TBS’s E-Sports league, but we will keep you posted on when they are announced.
Are you ready for E-Sports to hit TBS? Do you think Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is the right move? Pontificate your little heart out all over our message board down below.