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ESL, Hulu partner to bring original eSports content to streaming audiences

By Derek Helling

COLOGNE, GERMANY - AUGUST 17: A general view of the ESL stand is seen at the Gamescom 2016 gaming trade fair during the media day on August 17, 2016 in Cologne, Germany. Gamescom is the world's largest digital gaming trade fair and will be open to the public from August 18-22. (Photo by Mathis Wienand/Getty Images for BIU)
COLOGNE, GERMANY - AUGUST 17: A general view of the ESL stand is seen at the Gamescom 2016 gaming trade fair during the media day on August 17, 2016 in Cologne, Germany. Gamescom is the world's largest digital gaming trade fair and will be open to the public from August 18-22. (Photo by Mathis Wienand/Getty Images for BIU) /
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The world’s largest eSports company and one of the world’s most robust providers of on-demand streaming video have joined forces to produce original content.

On Monday, ESL broke new ground not only for itself but for the eSports industry as a whole. The new partnership with Hulu represents new territory for the online video streaming service as well.

According to a press release from ESL, the content will air this fall and include four new original shows that will be exclusive to Hulu.

This announcement comes on the heels of the release of Nielsen’s eSports playbook, which could have played a part in convincing Hulu to devote unprecedented resources to eSports coverage. In short, the playbook revealed the eSports audience in four countries including the United States is extremely robust and set up to grow as time passes.

Despite the explosion of eSports, original content on on-demand streaming platforms like Hulu has been completely absent. That changed Monday when the announcement of the four new shows came forth. The titles include:

  • Player V. Player: A game-centric debate show with casters and eSports influencers facing off over the hottest topics in eSports.
  • Bootcamp: A weekly documentary series following The Immortals, a top Counter Strike:Global Offensive team, as they rebuild their roster leading up to IEM Oakland.
  • Defining Moments: Dive deep into the most impactful moments in eSports history with passionate casters and analysts explaining what made these moments so monumental.
  • ESL Replay: A fast-paced, condensed, documentary-style recap of the most memorable moments from four of the biggest multi-day eSports tournaments in the world.

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Any doubts that remain about the popularity of eSports should have been erased long ago, but this announcement of an ESL-Hulu partnership should make any remaining doubters about the industry’s long-term success embarrassed.