Grass Valley, a Belden Brand, has announced a collaboration with FACEIT, the leading competitive gaming platform and event producer, to bring a live eSports competition to IBC 2018. Hosted on the Grass Valley booth (9.A01), an exclusive gaming area will be set up for professional players to compete, and for IBC attendees to take in the action of a live eSports viewing experience.
eSports has taken the world by storm. With market revenue forecast to reach $1.65 billion by 2020 and a recently confirmed place at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, eSports has evolved beyond the realm of niche entertainment and cemented itself into the mainstream. With growing advertising revenues, a global online audience of over 300 million, and construction of dedicated stadiums, today’s players are competing for multi-million-dollar prize money. Moreover, as the availability of high bandwidth streaming media platforms increases, eSports is reaching wider global audiences and attracting investment of entertainment companies, broadcasters and brands.
eSports fans expect immersive experiences across multiple platforms, with access to game footage, the on-stage playing environment, commentary, and closeups and interviews with players. At IBC, Grass Valley’s expansive suite of live production solutions will use the high-quality content from the gaming area to demonstrate how professional broadcast solutions can be leveraged to enhance the action and excitement of an eSports stadium experience.
“The market growth of eSports has been nothing short of incredible, and it hasn’t even reached its full potential,” said Mark Hilton, vice president of Live Production for Grass Valley. “eSports is just starting to come into its own in terms of professionally produced content. This holds tremendous potential for broadcasters and content creators to create and deliver high-quality content for this rapidly-growing sector. As the number one player in content and media technology, Grass Valley is perfectly positioned to be the transformation partner our customers are looking for to enter this new sector and capitalize on the opportunities it offers.”
“eSports is a prime example of the exciting changes taking place in today’s media landscape, and IBC is the perfect arena to demonstrate how its creation, production and distribution value can be maximised,” added Andrew Lane, technical broadcast manager, FACEIT. “As we look to grow our audience and engage them in innovative ways, we need partners that can help us flexibly adjust to what the future could hold for this promising sector. Nothing compels a viewer like a live event, and Grass Valley has the experience and sophisticated solutions we need to bring eSports to more screens for our viewers. We are very proud to be collaborating with Grass Valley again to bring this immersive live eSports experience to IBC.”
