Star Sports partners with NODWIN to telecast eSports on TV for the first time

Indian eSports company NODWIN Gaming is partnering with the Star Sports Network to bring live telecast of the upcoming eSports tournament ‘Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) Masters Series’ to TV viewers in the country especially those residing in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. The BGMI tournament will be available during prime time from June 24 to July 17.  

“There have been deferred broadcasts of eSports tournaments from the US on TV channels, but this is the first time an Indian eSports tournament is being broadcasted live on television,” said Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming. 

Usually live telecasts of eSports tournaments in India take place through digital streaming platforms such as YouTube and Hotstar. 

Though the number of viewers on eSports tournaments has been growing, NODWIN’s decision to bring the live telecast stems from the need to tap into tier 2 and tier 3 audiences who still consume content on linear TV as opposed to OTT platforms. Linear TV is the traditional mode of TV viewership in which the viewer consumes the program on the time it is scheduled to air on the channel.

“Our aspiration is to change the behavior of parents, advertisers, and big brands. Parents feel very proud of the fact that their kids are now on national television. There is a value to being on Star Sports rather than being on YouTube,” Rathee added. 

On an average the viewership for a BGMI tournament on digital platforms is 300,000 to 1 million concurrently, which translates to a per match viewership of 5 to 7 million, according to Rathee. 

Rathee said he is not expecting the digital audience to watch the tournament on TV. “We are expecting to add new viewers,” he added. 

Rathee explains, we are basically reaching out to viewers in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. That's why our first two languages for the live broadcast are Hindi and Tamil. English is the third language.

NODWIN Gaming is expected to announce the digital streaming partners for the BGMI Masters Series next week. 

Founded in 2015 and acquired by Nazara Technologies in 2018, NODWIN Gaming is one of the leading eSports companies in South Asia. The overall eSports industry in India is also anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 46% from Rs 250 crore in 2021 to Rs 1,100 crore by 2025, according to a June 2021 report by EY.