While the VAC authentication errors might be frustrating fans of the game and organisers of this weekend’s $55,555 Crown Invitational, the community can take solace in one note: the fact that FOX Sports, one of Australia’s biggest broadcasters of sport, will be televising Counter-Strike: Global Offensive next Tuesday.
There’s been chatter on forums and streams about the prospect of Crown’s CS:GO tournament being broadcast on TV, and now the website has an official listing.
Update: A listing on Foxtel’s page says that the invitational will be broadcast from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Saturday on FOX Sports 1, which you can see below. The remainder of the original story follows.
It’s for the finals of the Crown Invitational and, according to the FOX Sports website just now, people will be able to watch FOX talk about AK-47’s and professional pop flashes from 3:00 AM, next Tuesday.
Some have suggested that the Saturday portion of the tournament will be shown on Fox Sports Now, although I can’t find any listings on the site to confirm.
It’s not the first time Counter-Strike has been shown on Australian TV, though. News channels covering the World Cyber Games have tangentially shown footage of older versions of Counter-Strike in the background, and the ABC produced a documentary about Australia’s WCG representatives in 2002, iCHOR, showing some behind-the-scenes footage of their efforts in South Korea and interviews talking about the growth and status of eSports back then.
But it will be the first time Counter-Strike matches have been broadcast in full. It might not be the first broadcast of a full match — that honour would go to Channel 7 and the A*MAZING kids game show, which often displayed kids facing off one-on-ones in various games (including Tetris, Nigel Mansell’s World Championship and the fly-swatting mini-game from Mario Paint).
Comments
21 responses to “FOX Sports Will Be Broadcasting Australian Counter-Strike This Saturday (And Next Week)”
And let the general population moan at their ability to not understand esports
Seriously, if ever there’s a case for an activity to be broadcast via the web it’s esports.
Just my opinion and all, but watching counterstrike is pretty boring for anyone who hasn’t played or doesn’t play counterstrike.
If you play Counterstike, you have a computer and know how to watch Counterstrike.
Look, ultimately the market will decide, but I get games and while I’d watch Counterstrike once (out of interest), I’d rather have the darts running on the sports channel.
I’d probably agree with that. Regular TV is not the platform of choice for the esports audience.
If I wanted to watch esports I’d pick a twitch stream over TV.
But I guess they are trying to reach a broader audience? But then, CS is probably not the game that will appeal.
Start with Halo or COD or even LoL; something the masses actually play.
I disagree, LoL is confusing af if you don’t know the game. I hardly understand a thing when I watch it… In CS though everything is straight forward and when you see someone land an insane flick shot or just win a 1v3 clutch to get the round anyone can see what’s going on and get fully hyped about it. In LoL though if someone executes an obscure strategy or a team uses some kind of super effective combo of abilities, which I imagine may happen a lot, it’s just not easy to get hyped. If I knew how smart the strategy of ability use was then maybe I could get behind it, but the average Joe has no idea… Cod and Halo are just inferior there esports scene isn’t as strong as CS and the extra layers of abstraction from stuff like kill streak rewards and vehicles is something that’s once again not as easy to appreciate for non fans trying to understand the competitive field.
Nailed it.
True but I mentioned LoL because so very many people play it. Like tons of people, people who often are not otherwise part of the “gamer” scene.
Tis a big audience. And to get the ball rolling on televised esports, you need to get people watching so broadcasters think it’s a good idea and do it again.
But with any game, more so than sports, it’s difficult to watch and get into it unless you already are.
The goal should be to get as many people who already care to watch, so that once it’s a normal thing their mate who doesn’t could sit down on.the couch next to you one day and say: “ok, explain to me this thing you’re always watching.”
The identical complaint could be made against having any sport on tv. The darts being a fine example or a sport that a certain audience will love (includes me), but many wouldn’t get, and would hate.
I give as few shits about esports as I do about any other kind of sports, but rooting for the ‘home team’ of my favourite hobby, I am kind of looking forward to the schadenfreude of dinosaurs and jocks (or combinations of both) moaning about the unrelenting march of progress.
Given that the very first comment on this article is a pre-emptive whinge about the whingers, I think gamers will be the only ones losing sleep over the whole thing.
After hardcore feminists, I can’t think of any group that whips itself into an overly emotive online frenzy faster than the gaming community.
Your average person is going to turn on the TV, see games being played and go “What the hell? That’s lame” and then never think about it again.
You’ll get one or two TV personalities having a poke at games and the result will be hundreds of self-justifying, self-assuring articles and millions of comments about how “games are legit sports”, “gamers are elite athletes”, “gaming is a career” ect ect.
Some people won’t like esports on the sports channel, but to use a gamerism, the esports community is already prepping their butts for being hurt. 🙂
Except for when the whining and butthurt is actually real.
Granted, the Americans are generally more, uh… let’s say ‘passionate’ about damn near anything compared to Australians, but you’d have to be working in a pretty hip and nerdy workplace to believe there won’t be ignorant scoffing around the water-cooler the next day.
Will Luten be commentating?
Oh God. I haven’t heard that name mentioned in over a decade. Wouldn’t be surprised if he did though — is he still at FOX Sports?
https://twitter.com/MarkGottliebFOX/status/651941722218360833
Yes, although I’ve since found out he doesn’t like bringing up “the old days”.
Oh God. Waldo’s on Twitter too. You have made this day glorious for me.
Hah, He barely tweets, after i linked your article he thought he’d stir up Luten 🙂 .. I think that’s the most action his twitter has seen.
Up until today it was in the tv guide on Foxtel live on saturday night between 8pm and 10pm on fox sports 1.
I guess the dinosaurs running the show couldnt bring themselves to broadcast video games live, even though they are a major sponsor.
Edit: Looks like its back now, would never have picked something from Foxtel to be buggy (lolz)
Will this also be on Twitch/YouTube gaming? I’m not interested in watching, but I’m curious if Fox will try and control the rights as to who can and can’t watch like they usually do.
It’s an ESL event, so if it’s not on their Twitch page then they’re going to miss out on 90% of viewers.
Never got into Counter Strike but I support the coverage, it would be good seeing more gaming competitions broadcast on TV.
A dedicated TV channel for gaming would be cool.
There will be like 10 people watching it.
I would watch it but it is on at like 530 or whatever in WA (yay daylight savings) and i just don’t think i could get my other half to watch it while dinner is being prepared.