The Nomination
Counter-Strike may have the oldest competitive esports scene. It dates all the way back to 2001 with Counter-Strike 1.6. The Professional circuit has taken many forms over the years. The most typical being online tournaments and offline LAN’s. Among the most popular online gaming tournaments is ELEAGUE.
If you were keeping a close eye on professional Counter-Strike, you will remember that earlier last year, Counter-Strike made huge leaps for esports. ELEAGUE made a deal with TBS, where TBS agreed to broadcast ELEAGUE matches.
It raised a lot of eye-brows when CS:GO finally made its way to television. In the beginning, many network executives were speculative of the interest and profitability in esports, and they saw taking this chance as an easy, low-risk way to text out the model.
I’m sure none of the executives would have expected in their wildest dreams to have the show nominated for an Emmy. The title they are being nominated for is: Outstanding Studio Design/Art Direction. Not necessarily for anything of huge importance, but the recognition alone is huge.
What It Means for Esports
Ever since competitive gaming has come around, it has seen small amounts of discrimination from typical forms of entertainment. Almost as if gaming was frowned upon as a “lower” form of entertainment associated with basement dwellers. What is amazing about this nomination is that it shows that people are ready to change and see esports in a better light.
Not only will people begin to respect it more, but it encourages more esports television deals. ELEAGUE’s deal with TBS was mutually successful. This can be an example to look back on for future networks signing deals. More networks will begin to see the profitability in esports, signing more deals to get more games on the air.
Big companies are already beginning to see the profitability of esports and video gaming in general. Amazon recently purchased Twitch.tv (a popular video game streaming website) and have already begun monetizing the viewership with a new subscription service.
As time moves on, more and more organizations will begin to pick up on this source of income and will want to get in on it before it’s too late. These steps are huge for esports and can help cultivate a better community by helping it grow.
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