TORONTO – Rogers Communications made some waves in the gamer community Wednesday with the announcement of a new content deal bringing exclusive esports to TV on Sportsnet Now and Sportsnet 360, while announcing on the network side new peering arrangements which will make game play faster and more seamless.
On the content side, Rogers Media has secured a new deal with ESL, the world’s largest esports league, by acquiring the exclusive rights to its esportsTV, the first global 24/7 esports television channel.
“Sportsnet prides itself on being on the cutting edge of industry trends so we can continue to deliver premier sports experiences for our viewers,” said Jason Badal, senior director, business affairs, Sportsnet, in the press release. “Esports is on the cusp of becoming a global phenomenon and we are excited to bring this coveted content to Canadians.”
Launching this fall, esportsTV, will be available exclusively in Canada on the company’s OTT streaming brand Sportsnet NOW. In addition, a weekly esports news, highlights and analysis program will air on television on Sportsnet 360 beginning in July. Additional details will be announced at a later date.
On the network side, gamers will see improved performance thanks to peering agreements with some of the top e-gaming brands in the world such as Valve (creators of Steam), Riot, Blizzard, Xbox, and PlayStation Network. That means Rogers Ignite internet customers can enjoy fast, smooth gameplay and an optimized gaming experience over our network, says the company.
Average download rates published by Steam show that Rogers consistently tops the list of providers across Canada, reads the release.
“There are 19 million people in Canada who identify as gamers and Rogers Ignite Internet is optimized to bring them our best possible online gaming experience,” said Mark Shinozaki, director, internet product management, Rogers Communications, in the release. “In the real-time world of gaming, any lag or stutter can be the difference between winning and losing and our Ignite Gigabit service delivers our fastest speeds for multiple devices in the home, giving gamers a competitive edge.
