Always thought you have what it takes to “go pro”—as a video gamer? AOL’s Gamedaily site is hoping you’ll at least check into it, teaming up with Major League Gaming to offer a co-branded MLG site offering highlights from the MLG Pro Circuit TV series, gamer profiles and blogs, as well as online game tournaments.
“AOL recognizes that gaming has become a mainstream form of entertainment and a compelling way to connect with young consumers,” said Matthew Bromberg, President and COO of MLG, in a statement. “By teaming up with AOL to cross-promote content, we’re making it easier for this audience to find and enjoy gaming content when and where they want it.”
As part of the deal, Gamedaily.com will stream highlights from the seven episodes of the Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit TV Series on the USA basic cable network. Highlights will be available once the episode is broadcast, wand will remain online for a week. The site will also feature other MLG content, including player profiles, links to player blogs, and MLG-branded AIM icons, wallpaper, and other AIM “Self Expressions.” AOL will also cycle MLG content throughout the AOL network of sites. The site will also link to online gaming tournaments operated by MLG…so maybe you can see if you’ve got the stuff.
“As part of our ongoing mission to provide the most compelling content available to video game enthusiasts, we are thrilled to partner with MLG to expand our competitive gaming offering and bring their rich content to our millions of users,” said Ralph Rivera, Vice President and General Manager, AOL Games.
The real question is the extent to which AOL’s demographic—historically, users who are not terribly comfortable with the Internet and want the experiences mediated and sanitized for them—overlaps with MLG’s “elusive” young, video-game enthusiast audience. Our bet: not much—but if the world really is ready for a professional video gaming league, then these efforts to tie into mass media are going to be more and more common.
