CBS Signs New TV Contract With WSVG

By now, we’ve all heard of the World Series of Video Games.

Now, the WSVG has signed a TV broadcast deal with CBS. You may recall that last December, WSVG signed a deal with CBS to broadcast the gaming competition for the first time ever on a major network. This new deal will broadcast the WSVG into 111 million homes in the US alone. According to WSVG, the deal, “solidifies its position as the most widely distributed and accessible video game competition in America.” Basically, you can look for four separate hour-long events, one each after the major US events, and one after the finals in Sweden.

The events will be a part of the CBS Sports Spectacular, and will air on Sunday, July 29; Sunday, August 19; Saturday, November 17; and Saturday, December 15. Coverage is slated to include segments on the competitors, as well as footage of the competitions in World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, Guitar Hero II, and even Fight Night 3.

Rob Correa, senior vice president of programming for CBS Sports, said, “We’re delighted to work with the World Series of Video Games to bring competitive video games to a wide audience as part of our award-winning sports coverage. With popular titles that broaden the appeal of competitive gaming, we think this will be the year that television broadcasting of video games really takes off.”

This is a big deal, and not only for the WSVG and its participants. Major network coverage of a video game competition smack in the middle of a well-known sports broadcast is a really step towards games being accepted as a meaningful competitive undertaking. This could be the foot in the door that gaming needs to bring itself more into the mainstream than it ever has been. Let’s hope the ratings stay high, so that this will be a recurring event for years to come.