Professional gaming has long looked to professional sports for a cue on how to package its product. Now, Major League Gaming is doing that again for its online video content.
The American e-sports company revealed today that it will appoint its long-time broadcaster Chris Puckett to vice president of programming. In this new role, Puckett will produce six to 10 hours of video content a week. These new shows will fall into an ESPN-style mold but will focus on the game strategy, highlights, analysis, and competition. Puckett will also conduct interviews with pro players.
“Our goal has always been for MLG to become a recognized sport, and our online broadcasts and 24/7 programming is the best way to reach a growing and captivated sports-centric audience,” MLG chief executive Sundance DiGiovanni said in a statement. “In the last few years, more 18-24 males have watched our Championship competitions online than top traditional sports broadcasts online. The appetite and audience is there, and we are poised to deliver.”
DiGiovanni noted that the time viewers spent watching MLG events rose to an average of 169 minutes. That’s nearly three hours of content for the company to sell advertising against, to the marketing-friendly 18-to-24-year-old male demographic.
Prior to this promotion, Puckett was the lead commentator for MLG’s Call of Duty competitions. DiGiovanni credits the consistent quality of Puckett’s broadcasts as one of the reasons that MLG’s viewership is on the rise.
Check out the MLG broadcast team presenting the Call of Duty: All-Star Game at its Anaheim, Calif. event last week: