ESL is once again making strides in the legitimization and mainstream distribution of competitive gaming content, this time through groundbreaking partnerships within the entertainment industry. The world’s largest esports company today announced a collaboration with Pilgrim Media Group, a partner of Lionsgate Entertainment, to create and distribute original esports content for television and digital platforms.
ESL Executive Chairman Steven Robert said of the announcement:
“Esports is exploding. Combining the authenticity of ESL with the storytelling expertise of Pilgrim and Lionsgate to further expand the audience is exciting. While the core gaming fans have been enjoying our content for years, the opportunity to showcase esports through a different lens is an amazing opportunity.”
Pilgrim Media Group is an award-winning production company best known for its unscripted programming, such as The Ultimate Fighter, a reality television series and mixed martial arts competition, and Wicked Tuna, a competition-based series focusing on commercial tuna fishermen. Pilgrim Media Group CEO Craig Piligian said that the ESL partnership is perfectly suited for the company’s competitive unscripted production background:
“Pilgrim has a long history of creating competition programming that taps into the passion of fans – whether the playing field is the Octagon, the wilderness, on a fishing boat or in an arena. We’re extremely excited to bring the power, scope and mental muscle of gaming to television in a way that helps these loyal fans experience esports as never before.”
Lionsgate President of Interactive Ventures and Games Peter Levin was an integral part in orchestrating the partnership and added:
“Our partnership with Craig Piligian and relationship with ESL created the perfect opportunity to bring together the biggest esports promoter in the world and one of the most established and prolific unscripted production companies. We see tremendous growth potential in esports as it becomes a major player in the gaming ecosystem, and we’re thrilled to bring esports to more fans on an expanding array of platforms.”
According to a recent report by leading games market research group Newzoo, the esports economy is projected to grow to $1.1 billion in revenue by 2019 and entertain an audience of 345 million. ESL is proud to be on the forefront of this growth, with cutting-edge initiatives such as the world’s first 24/7 esports channel.
Stay tuned for more information and follow ESL on Twitter and Facebook for all the updates!
