eSports is gaining popularity like never before, the multi billion dollar industry is bigger than movie and music put together. Even YouTube Lets Play commentaries, PewDiePie can make it big as game reviewer, hosts, the comedic Swede is now part of Disney with his own network.
For much time this sedentary sport was viewed as a negative influence on youths and often reserved to being played in shady cyber cafes with tinted panels. Now the sport is given its due recognition with ministries and TV channels taking a lead role to bring the gaming event to new heights in Malaysia.
Astro is seriously looking into this space, the TV station has just launched the regions first 24/7 gaming channel eGG or Every Good Game dedicated purely on gaming. Fans of eSports will be delighted to know that they can enjoy watching popular eSports tournaments like League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft II and many more on this channel via Astro and Astro on the Go on eGG channel 808 in Malaysia starting June 2016.
Lee Choong Khay, Vice President of Sports at Astro said, “From trendy to mainstream, eSports is a growing global phenomenon among the millennials and is expected to reach over 218 million audience worldwide by year end 2016. Enjoying booming popularity among a growing community of eSports fans, we believe that a dedicated 24/7 channel, eGG will play a pivotal role in bringing together a connected ASEAN community of fans. eGG plans to partner with main game organisers and developers to bring live top tier global tournaments and on demand content featuring pubstomps, gaming walkthrough, expert guides, documentaries, game house tours and weekly highlights.”
Astro was the first in ASEAN to broadcast live on television The International 5 Dota 2 Championship in 2015. The broadcast of Ti5 was hugely popular with the younger demographics thus encouraging Astro to broadcast more eSports tournaments and capturing millions of viewers.
Unlike traditional sports where fans follow specific teams and players, eSports fandom and loyalty are tied to the content and game itself; building a community of connected fans, adding an element of social engagement and buzz online. Other popular gaming channels are Twitch, YouTube and Facebook.
