University of Akron aims to build world's largest esports facility, and more esports news

There's a new esports music label in town, and the University of Akron wants to build the world's largest esports facility for students and compatible courses. ESPN also believes the scene has massive potential on traditional broadcasting platforms after a sluggish start with Overwatch.

Hit the esports arena instead of studying ...

The University of Akron plans to build the world's largest esports facility on campus. While the plan has been met with opposition from those who feel as though esports shouldn't be more prominent on-site than academic studies, it seems Akron aims to continue seeing how more students are gaming.

It's not the only university or college to offer esports studies or facilities either, and with the growth of the scene and careers in professional gaming, you can expect to see further developments. If you're interested to see what Akron is working on, check out the official post for more details.

Turn up the volume during broadcasts

Universal Music Group and ESL have announced a multi-year partnership with the launch of a joint label. This deal will see artists signed with the new label have their work played during esports broadcasts, essentially offering a direct promotion on owned channels and other platforms.

You can expect to see a wider variety of artists and genres during ESL broadcasts.

ESPN sees esports growth for TV

Esports didn't get off to a particularly good start on ESPN, which suffered from rather poor ratings after showing the Overwatch League on July 27. In spite of experiencing poor viewership, ESPN President, Jimmy Pitaro, sees a positive future for esports on ESPN and other networks. From Pitaro:

Look, esports is not a fad. It's not going anywhere. We believe it is ascending, and in the spirit of us attracting a younger audience, esports has got to be a priority of ours.

The issue broadcasters have with esports is the main demographic: gamers. Gamers tend to enjoy using Twitch and other dedicated streaming platforms over traditional TV channels. Esports lounges and bars that cater to gamers and esport fans could help alleviate this problem by showing live games through ESPN instead of online streaming sites.

Upcoming live events

• League of Legends Championship - August 31 (EU), September 01 (EU and U.S.), September 02 (US), watch on Twitch.