THE CW TO BROADCAST ESPORTS EVENT DURING PRIMETIME
H1Z1 Documentary Series and Tournament on The CW (Photo: Daybreak Studios)
TNL Take: The CW network, which had the highest rated eSports TV program in 2016, is launching a 6-part documentary series on popular game H1Z1 with a 15 team tournament airing on Thursday, April 20th at 9PM.
The documentary series will follow Rick Fox's eSports team Echo Fox which was one of the earliest teams to invest in H1Z1.
Although H1Z1 is relatively new having launched 2 versions of the game in February 2016, it's quickly picked up eSports teams signing players and generated decent viewership on Twitch.
While this is a big opportunity to showcase H1Z1 to the masses, there are a few interesting details related to the tournament:
- Only 4 teams have been announced for the event - Echo Fox, Rogue Gaming, Denial and Panda Gaming - with 11 remaining spots remaining with less than 2 months left. Individual players can enter however will need to be signed by an eSports team
- Those entering the event can't use their own hardware or peripherals. ASUS ROG are one of the sponsors for the tournament...who also sponsor Echo Fox
- All team jerseys with sponsors must be approved prior to the event
Take note of the last 2 points.
As eSports continues to gain momentum and mass exposure, more restrictions are going to come down from the game publishers regarding their IP.
It's great to see The CW network invest in eSports and we'll see if they can beat their 2016 ratings as well as top 2017 to date.
2017 eSports TV Ratings (Infographic: The Next Level)