Okay
Are eSports real sports? ESPN’s intrepid leader doesn’t seem to think so.
“It’s not a sport — it’s a competition,” ESPN president John Skipper said Thursday at the Code/Media Series conference in New York. “Chess is a competition. Checkers is a competition.Mostly, I’m interested in doing real sports.”
The dismissal is curious, given ESPNpartnered with Valveearlier this summer to broadcast The International, the world championship forDota 2, and how the network airs stuff like cup stacking, competitive eating, spelling bees, and poker tournaments. Somehow those must berealsports.
I wonder where the man stands on the greatGone Homedebate. Videogame or no, Mr. Skipper?
Sorry, Twitch: ESPN’s skipper says eSports ‘not a sport’[Re/code viaPolygon]
