G4 have partnered with ESL Gaming in order to bring esports content to linear television, G4 revealed on their twitter today.
Say hello to esports on linear.
Welcome @ESL to the G4 family! pic.twitter.com/oHlIeRltkR
— G4 (@G4TV) July 22, 2021
G4 have partnered with ESL gaming
G4 and ESL gaming have signed a new media rights deal that allows the US and Canadian esports community to have access to events through linear TV. So far, ESL have streamed their tournaments and events almost exclusively through online streaming. A linear (traditional) TV deal is a groundbreaking move forward.
G4 and Comcast NBCUniversal will bring viewers into ESL action through side content that they will produce. G4 have several content creators under their belt to solidify the transition onto linear TV. The list includes former NALCS host Ovilee May, former WWE superstar Austin Creed, popular Twitch Streamer CodeMiko and many more.
G4’s ESL coverage will be in English and will take up primetime slots on television. The hope is that bringing esports onto a more mainstream medium will introduce competitive gaming to a brand new audience. G4 also now hold the exclusive rights to produce content over ESL’s official broadcasts. This means that G4 will be able to show highlights from ESL events and even jump onto the official ESL broadcast from time to time.
“We know there is a growing number of esports fans in North America and G4 is the perfect partner for us as we continue on our mission to reach new audiences,“ said Frank Uddo, Senior Vice President Media Rights at ESL Gaming. “We have hosted many successful events in North America already, and with this exciting partnership we will finally be able to provide all US and Canadian esports fans with access to ESL events via linear TV broadcasts as well.”
There will be more information about the partnership as time goes by, including which ESL events G4 will be producing content for.
