It’s hard to think of
TBS as a secondary player to
Twitch, but when it comes to the ELeague that launches this week, that’s exactly how Turner is viewing its biggest TV channel.
Turner Sports has a ton of digital experience from running NBA.com, PGA.com, NCAA.com and Bleacher Report. But this week will mark the first time that Turner will use one of its TV channels to supplement digital. It’s way too early to call this a trend, but it’s one of the most intriguing aspects of ELeague’s launch.
“Five years ago, we were sitting on these linear pillars and were trying to find the digital extension or companion app,” said
Craig Barry, Turner Sports’ executive vice president of production and chief content officer. “Really, the 30 hours of broadcast that we’re streaming on Twitch is just supplemented by the three-hour show on TBS. TBS really becomes the linear companion pillar for the much larger digital offering. This is 180 degrees from what we’re used to in the traditional sports space.”
Where TBS will show its influence is in how the events are produced on both digital and television. Turner producers plan to tell stories about the game’s participants as a way to attract viewers who know nothing about esports.
“We want to tell narratives that create an emotional attachment for the fan — whether they’re hard core or casual, you can’t argue against great narrative and storytelling,” Barry said. “This is something that is inherently missing in esports right now. It’s something that we can pull from our traditional platforms to get to a place where we can have a higher degree of storytelling and, ultimately, fan connections.”
As an example, Barry pointed to an Australian ELeague team that moved to the U.S. and has experienced enough ups and downs that Barry believes viewers will connect emotionally with them.
“We followed them from Australia,” Barry said. “The story is that they came here and it wasn’t fame and fortune. They struggled. It was almost like a bad rock band. … Since then, they’ve started to find their way and move back into a place where they may be able to get competitive again, which would be a great happy ending to a story.”
Barry also referenced ELeague’s LeBron James — an esports player named Olof Kajbjer. Known as “Olofmeister,” the player refuses to shake anybody’s hand for fear of damaging his wrist.
“These are little nuances that people can connect to,” Barry said. “Whether he’s the best or not — suddenly the story about the fact that he doesn’t shake hands outweighs the fact that he may be the best ‘Counter-Strike’ player in the world.”
Production will come from a 250-seat arena Turner built in Atlanta. Barry promises that the games will have the look and feel of traditional sports telecasts, complete with pregame and postgame shows and halftimes.
“For the traditional sports fan, they’ll be able to see a lot of similarities in the way that we approach it,” Barry said. “If you gave it a full three hours on Friday night, you definitely would understand the game, you definitely would be engaged with the teams and players.”
John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ.
