14 DAY TRIAL // The President of large TV channel ESPN believes that eSports, such as Dota 2 or League of Legends, aren't real sports, as they're more like competitions, likening the games with chess or checkers.
ESPN has made a name for itself by transmitting all sorts of different sports and competitions over the years, and earlier this summer it pioneered in terms of eSports, broadcasting Valve's huge The International 4 Dota 2 tournament, which saw millions of dollars be awarded to its participating teams.
However, ESPN boss John Skipper isn't that thrilled with such tournaments labeling themselves as sports, likening the games more to chess or checkers.
"It's not a sport, it's a competition," Skipper told Recode during a recent conference. "Chess is a competition. Checkers is a competition. Mostly, I'm interested in doing real sports."
While that may be Skipper's opinion, professional gamers have been making headway by securing visas for athletic purposes and many titles, from Dota 2 to League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, or StarCraft 2 fill major football stadiums around the world, while drawing in hundreds of thousands of viewers, just like any serious sporting competition.
It's unclear if Skipper's position will translate in a shunning of eSports competitions on ESPN in the future.