The exciting world of eSports has exploded into living rooms in the UK courtesy of a broadcasting deal with Sky TV, and nominations open for the inaugural eSports Industry Awards.
Sky TV has aired competitive eSports on terrestrial TV in the UK for the first time in the sports history.
The British telecoms giant showed highlights from the ESL Intel Masters World Championships in a two-hour show on Monday night at 10 pm (GMT). The coverage included highlights from the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends and Starcraft II tournaments. The events played out over the past five days in Katowice, Poland.
Despite having eight dedicated sports channels, Sky TV organisers decided to host the two-hour special on Sky 2. It looks like Sky are dipping their big toe into the water. Viewing numbers will tell them whether they should strip off and submerge. A representative of Sky told engadget.com that the decision to air the two-hour show ’doesn’t signal a huge commitment to eSports coverage’.
Last October, the BBC aired live coverage of the 2015 League of Legends World Championships. However, the iconic UK TV broadcaster decided to air their four-day coverage of the event through their online channel.
Over 100,000 fans will travel to the Spodek Arena in Katowice to experience the live action. Millions more will be checking out the online coverage. The optional viewing of terrestrial TV would no doubt bring a glut of viewers to the screens.
It’s little wonder the world of broadcasting wants to get in on the action. Over 100 million people watch Twitch every month.
Nominations Open For The eSports Industry Awards
The inaugural eSports Industry Awards is arriving in London’s trendy Brewery on November 21.
The evening will be in the hands of gaming industry guru Julia Hardy, and the Gadget Show’s Jason Bradbury. Gfinity will be the sponsors for the evening. It’s believed over 600 people will attend as a minimum of 18 awards are handed out to the deserved.
• Best Streaming Platform
• eSports Commercial Partner of the Year
• eSports Team of the Year
• Best Live Event
• 2016 Shoutcaster of the Year
• eSports Rookie of the Year
• New eSports Game of the Year
• Best Hardware
• Streamer of the Year
• Best eSports Coverage Website 2016
• eSports Photographer of the Year
• eSports Journalist of the Year
• UK eSports Player of the Year
• Console Player of the Year
• PC Player of the Year
• eSports Publisher of the Year
• eSports Game of the Year
• eSports Personality of the Year
Nominations are now open. If you want to get involved, send your submissions to [email protected]. The nomination process will end on April 8th. After that, a yet to be announced judging panel containing ex-players, members of the media and broadcasters, will determine those who leave with the largest smile.
