THE CW TOPS Q2 ESPORTS TV RATINGS
The CW's H1Z1 Tops Q2 eSports TV Ratings (Photo: Daybreak Studios)
TNL Take: As we close out the first half of 2017, we've seen more eSports programming on TV than all of 2016.
TNL Infographic 047: 2017 Q2 eSports TV Ratings (Infographic: The Next Level)
THE CW:
The CW again takes the top spot just like they did last year, this time around the popular game H1Z1. The CW is in more households than other networks on the list however I'd still point out the one major difference: scheduling.
The H1Z1 event aired on Thu at 9PM aka Prime Time viewing.
ELEAGUE/TURNER
ELEAGUE launched a new eSports series around Street Fighter that did exceptionally well considering it was the games first major television debut and the lack of support that Capcom has provided in supporting the FGC (Fighting Game Community) - that looks to be changing however.
TNL Infographic 048: ELEAGUE TV Ratings History (Infographic: The Next Level)
This past weekend, ELEAGUE held their "Clash For Cash" rematch Counter-Strike event between Astralis and Virtus Pro, the teams that were in the Finals which set Twitch viewership records.
This event wasn't even close to the previous Counter-Strike finals on both TV and Twitch.
TNL Infographic 049: ELEAGUE Counter-Strike TV Ratings History (Infographic: The Next Level)
Even the scheduling seems odd.
The same weekend held Dreamhack (major event), CWL Anaheim (major Call of Duty event) and CEO (major fighting event) - on top hundreds of hours of gaming and eSports content related to E3 which ended last week.
Why not hold it the following week or with less content clutter?
The canary in the coal mine for advertising is renewals - aka Brands got value from their investment and will spend again with you.
There were 0 Non-Endemic Brand deals for "Clash For Cash".
ELEAGUE's new season around Injustice 2 will be telling to see if Buffalo Wild Wings, Arby's, Credit Karma, GEICO and others come back.