Gaming company plans to stream esports tournaments in cinemas.
Esports gaming company NODWIN Gaming has announced it has struck a deal with India’s largest cinema exhibition company, PVR Limited, which will see PVR Cinemas become the country’s first cinema theatres to host live esports tournaments.
The hugely popular Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), which is the Indian version of PUBG, will be the first game to be live streamed.
The inaugural tournament will start with BGMI, and plans are already in place to include other games from different genres in the future. Gamers from all over the country can participate in the online esports cups and in-cinema tournaments with different prize pools in different cities.
The final knockout rounds of the tournaments — the quarter-final, semi-final and final — of each city will be broadcasted in select PVR Cinemas and also live-streamed on NODWIN Gaming’s Facebook and YouTube platforms. It is reported that tickets will be priced around INR 150-200 initially.
The idea behind this partnership is to fast track the growth of the esports industry and to combine it with the already successful entertainment industry in the country.
Akshat Rathee, Managing Director and co-founder of NODWIN Gaming, stated:
“NODWIN Gaming has always emphasized on the importance of reinforcing grassroot development that can be a strong and reliable foundation for esports, and this property is a step in that direction. City-level penetration of professional esports leads to solid exposure for the grassroot ecosystem and as seen in the past, the more exposed the grassroots is, the better it gets at the higher tiers. This in turn paves the way for collective growth of all tiers of professional players. Our association with PVR Cinemas opens a corridor towards mainstreaming esports and placing it right in the middle of the entertainment industry. Esports as an upcoming medium of interactive entertainment has had its fair share of visibility in the jam-packed arenas but it’s about time that we bring action to the silver screen. NODWIN, along with building grassroots, will also give its audience a premium watching experience with this partnership.”
Sanjeev Bijli, Joint Managing Director, PVR Limited, added:
“At PVR, we strive to continually evolve as an entertainment destination, offering our customers the opportunity to have an entertaining escape into more than just big films. Our immersive environment lends itself particularly well to the gaming community, putting players in the universes in which they are competing. We are excited to bring big games to the big screen in collaboration with NODWIN Gaming.”
Kamal Gianchandani, Chief of Strategy, PVR Limited, spoke about the vision behind the partnership and the opportunities that lie ahead for both parties:
“Our purpose at PVR is to gather, grow and entertain communities. With us becoming a part of the Indian esports ecosystem, we have the opportunity to serve our purpose by giving PVR communities another entertaining way to gather on our esports platform. NODWIN team has a relentless passion for gaming; we are delighted to be partnering with them on this initiative.”
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