Activision Blizzard Takes On Twitch With eSports Live Broadcast Network And Partnership With Facebook

If there was any doubt about Activision's interest in eSports, it was squashed this past January when the company acquired Major League Gaming - MLG for short - for $46 million. Furthering its love for all things competitive gaming is a brand-new eSports network that runs through its MLG.tv Web portal. Oh - things are going to be getting good.

At the IAB Digital Content NewFronts 2016 conference, Activision showed off "EVE". No, not the game, but 'Enhanced Viewing Experience', an HD video stream that delivers a wealth of statistics during a match. The network's host is Chris Pucket, someone who has a ton of experience in the eSports realm, from both the gaming and broadcasting standpoint.

Activision is confident that its MLG.tv portal will play a 'defining role' in realizing the full potential of eSports coverage. It won't just show people a match, it will provide a bunch of goodies on the side that will spur conversation and create sharable content. With eSports already having grown at a mind-boggling speed, the time is definitely right for Activision to launch such an initiative. 

So to help kick off MLG.tv in a big way, Activision has teamed up with Facebook to allow the 1.6 billion users of the service to take advantage of its content through the website. The inaugural event revolves around Call of Duty: Black Ops III and will take place in Anaheim, California, on June 10, 2016.

Something tells us that that's just going to be the beginning.