Astro launching 24-hour eSports channel

Game on: eSport major tournaments are now a common sight in United States, Europe and China, hosted in large arenas housing thousands of spectators. Photo credit: Riot Games

Astro is turning its channel 808 into a dedicated 24-hour eSports channel in June.

It will be rebranded as eGG (Every Good Game) and will be available for free to Astro subscribers and also on mobile app and desktop browsers through Astro on the Go streaming service.

Channel 808 went live in August last year when Astro aired The International 2015 Dota 2 tournament.

Since then the company has expanded the coverage to include popular videogames such as League Of Legends, Hearthstone, Starcraft II and FIFA Interactive World Cup 2016.

The company also said that it is exploring the possibility of including other games such as Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Heroes Of The Storm, Super Smash Bros, Street Fighter, Rocket League, Overwatch and Pro Evolution Soccer in the future.

“From trendy to mainstream, eSports is a growing global phenomenon among the millennial and is expected to reach over 218 million audience worldwide by the end of the year,” said Astro vice president of sports Lee Choong Khay.

“We believe that a dedicated 24/7 eSports channel will play a pivotal role in bringing together a connected Asean community of eSports fans.

“eGG plans to partner with main game organisers and developers to bring live top tier global tournaments and on-demand content featuring pubstomps, gaming walkthrough, expert guides, documentaries, game house tours and weekly highlights.”