ESPN CEO: I wasn’t particularly connected to Esports

Many were surprised when ESPN backtracked on their CEO’s statement last year about Esports and started to cover it this year. What resulted in all the drama that happened then? John Skipper explains.

In a new interview with the CEO of ESPN John Skipper, there were many questions related to the company’s relation with Esports now and its future plans. Basically what happened was because Skipper was a bit out of touch with the whole Esports industry.

“I’m a 60-year-old man. I wasn’t particularly connected to eSports. I had smart people who told me, “There’s something to this. We should look at it and get involved. We should cover it.” And I did so. I have a very bright guy who works for me named John Kosner, and John said, “You need to pay attention to this.” He took me to Madison Square Garden to see the League of Legends final, and I spent some time there with the guys, and had a great time. ” Said Skipper

“I saw the crowd that was there, and learned that the sport mattered to those people. Those were young, predominantly male consumers, and that’s what matters to us. And so we entered the business, the coverage of it, and we have carried some games and we continue to have discussions to do other things.”

When asked about whether or not one day we’ll be able to turn on the TV and Esports will be up, the CEO responded that the company is in constant talk with players to take opportunities but nothing came into fruition just yet, saying the company will continue to pursue this business.