Disney XD is continuing to bring the online gaming world to linear TV.
Summer programming block D|XP has launched two new original shows from eSports platform Electronic Sports League (ESL), ESL Brawlers (pictured) and ESL Speedrunners.
Six x one-hour Brawlers will focus on Street Fighter V players. (The game from Capcom was released in February 2016 on PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows.) The series premiereson July 20 and includes a final seventh episode with gaming influencers facing off against professionals while playing Vainglory, a multiplayer online mobile game by Super Evil Megacorp.
Set to air in August, Speedrunners will feature multiple games with players racing against the clock to complete them in the shortest amount of time. The seven x half-hour series will also see players chasing world records.
With offices in North America, Germany, Russia, France, Poland, Spain and China, ESL is a part of global digital entertainment group MTG. The company operates international and national eSports leagues as well as tournaments such as Intel Extreme Masters, ESL One, ESL National Championships.
Disney XD’s new gaming block kicked off last week. The content, aimed at the 13-plus crowd, includes series produced with ESPN, Disney Digital Network and its Maker creators, IGN, Attack Media, Warner Bros. Television Group’s Blue Ribbon Content, Toronto’s Banger Films and VICE’s Waypoint.
The block’s launch comes as the US gaming market continues to heat up. US video game hardware, software and accessory sales grew by 10% in April to the tune of US$636 million. The kids space has taken notice, with Nickelodeon, for one, recently hopping on amateur eSports platform SLG’s most recent funding round.