On Friday night, while LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers take on DeMar DeRozan and the Toronto Raptors in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference playoff series, a bunch of headset-wearing dudes will be facing off in their own version of televised warfare as the ELEAGUE debuts on Turner's TBS network.
There are no 3-point shots, but there are headshots in ELEAGUE, which features 5-man teams competing against each other in the Counter Strike: Global Offensive video game. Yes, players shoot their opponents in the head, sending blood and brain matter into the air as announcers and quick-fingered video game players shout their approval. The enthusiastic reaction when heads explode is similar to watching Cavs players fall over themselves on the bench when LeBron throws down a thunderous dunk.
While I'm not much of an NBA fan, given a choice I'd probably watch the game featuring LeBron and the Cavs instead of a first-person shooter game featuring teams of terrorists and counter-terrorists battling each other.
I openly admit that I'm not a video gamer. It was never my thing. Among males beyond the age of 40, I know I'm not alone. I played stick-and-ball sports growing up. My youth sports of choice were hockey, golf and baseball. Therefore, that's what I'm drawn to now. I can't even figure out the controller to play NHL16 or EA Sports's latest PGA Tour game. Yeah, I'm that guy. I'd rather take slapshots into an empty hockey net in the driveway or hit used yellow golf balls at the driving range. Clearly, I'm not TBS's target audience for the new ELEAGUE. And that's fine with Craig Barry, chief content officer of Turner Sports.
"I think its OK for content to be generational,'' Barry said during a media event this week showing off Turner's glitzy new ELEAGUE studio, which sits around the corner from the network's "Inside the NBA" set. ``If you gave it its due, it would probably be something for everyone, but the fact is, the audience is younger. We're interested in an authentic audience. Sure, we're interested in anybody who is interested, but I'm not sure we can force it to a cynical or skeptical audience who has zero interest in the competitive nature of video games."
I think he just called me cynical and skeptical. Guilty.
While ELEAGUE, a joint venture between Turner and WME | IMG, is going after the much-coveted 18-34 audience, Barry said the "sweet spot" is probably 24-25. In that sweet spot are guys like Chad Burchill, a 26-year-old professional gamer from Perth, Australia. Burchill is the leader of the Australian-based Renegades team, one of 24 squads selected from around the world to compete in ELEAGUE's inaugural season. SPOILER ALERT: The Renegades lost to Luminosity, a Brazilian team, in Tuesday night's opening ELEAGUE match.
For 10 weeks, starting May 27, ELEAGUE matches will air on Friday nights at 10 p.m. ET on TBS. There's a second season planned for the fall. The ELEAGUE format is similar to traditional sports: there are six four-team groups competing in round-robin matches. Four group winners earn byes into the playoffs, while runner-ups will be given a chance to get into the postseason through a repechage.
To go with a weekly ELEAGUE broadcast, Turner has set up distribution rights in more than 80 countries. Earlier this month, ELEAGUE announced two-year sponsorship deals with Arby's, Credit Karma and
The broadcasts will play heavy on telling the stories behind the gamers, essentially trying to sell the audience on the personalities, not necessarily the action. It's a viewer-friendly model made popular during Olympic broadcasts, where casual sports fans who know nothing about niche winter sports find themselves rooting for lesser-knowns like Eddie the Eagle or the Jamaican bobsled team.
The majority of the ELEAGUE's actual Counter Strike action will be shown Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on Twitch -- a gamer-centric streaming site.
After spending the past eight months working on the ELEAGUE project for Turner, Barry -- who describes himself a video game player/fan -- said he has gained an appreciation for the hard work top players put into their passion.
"They compete at the highest level," Barry said. "They have put the most amount of hours into the dedication of their craft and that makes them competitors. I think when anybody is competing on the highest level, people are genuinely interested in watching that."
Heck, I might even tune in. Maybe.
