Duh na na, duh na na
Not ESPN 3, ESPN2 is going to air the finals for the Heroes of the Storm collegiate tournament, appropriately titled Heroes of the Dorm, this Sunday at 6:30pm Pacific / 9:30pm Eastern. This marks the first time an eSports event has been broadcast live on mainstream television. Everyone knows that eSports aren’t a sport, including the president of ESPN, but ESPN2 has aired many competitive non-sports in the past, like poker and competitive eating.
eSports is huge in other countries, with South Korea having its own eSports stadium. It is growing more and more popular worldwide as a form of spectator entertainment. ESPN knows that new viewers means more ad dollars, so this move makes sense. Does this spell the end for real sports on ESPN, like how MTV used to play music and Twitch used to show videogames (they front page a lot of concerts now)? I think Mega64’s most recent videos gives us a glimpse into the future.
ESPN2 will air a live e-sports match this Sunday for the first timeever[VentureBeat]