Yahoo! Inc. Launches Esports to Host Coverage of Major Games, Events

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Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) announced the launching of its new site called Esports, which will host coverage of major games and events.  Esports will serve as an extension of the Yahoo Sports brand and part of its continued investments to provide the best content and experience to sports enthusiasts.

The company noted that the esports industry is growing at a tremendous rate. The industry has an audience of more than 226 million globally in 2015. The research firm Newzoo estimated a 42% increase in the global e-sports revenue to $463 million this year.

Yahoo Esports will provide unique video content

“We’re launching a comprehensive destination for e-sports fans everywhere, focused on delivering professional analysis, video content, live matches, team rosters, schedules, chat and more.” according to the company.

Yahoo Esports is available 24/7 and will focus on providing unique video content experiences by covering live tournaments and offering in-depth features. The site will hide all spoilers by default to allow users to enjoy matches on their time.

At launching, Yahoo Esports will concentrate its coverage on League of Legends, Dota 2; Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Heroes of the Storm and Street Fighter V. The company will add titles over time.

Yahoo hires industry experts

The company hired some of the best editorial and video talent in the e-sports industry including Andrea Rene, Travis Gafford, Taylor Cocke and Dylan Walker.

Rene is a veteran video games reporter. She will be hosting Esports experts covering weekly tournaments.

Gafford previously worked at CBSinteractive. He will be leading Yahoo Esports League of Legends video coverage.

Cocke previously worked for IGN, Kotaku, Red Bull esports. He will be covering League of Legends, Dota 2 and Hearthstone.

Walker is covering Heroes of the Storm and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive with Rene as host. He previously served as a team manager and content creator for Lunatik e-sports, an amateur CS: GO team in North America. He also worked as a reporter for IGN, Kotaku, Red Bull esports.

Yahoo Sports Media Vice President Bob Condor said, “We’re approaching our coverage of esports with the same tenacity and professionalism we always have with Yahoo Sports News, and Finance. Coupled with our experience in building great products, we’ve gone out and assembled an experienced and innovative content team that will cover esports from every angle.”