Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios will partner with Turner Sports’ ELEAGUE to produce a documentary series about “Gears of War” players in conjunction with a new version of the video game launching later this year.

Reuters reports:

The series will feature six hour-long programs focusing on the new game, called Gears 5, and the lives of its star players from around the globe. It will debut June 14 on Turner’s TBS network.

ELEAGUE produces content about esports and live tournaments. It is a partnership between Turner Sports, a unit of AT&T Inc’s WarnerMedia, and entertainment talent agency IMG.

Esports fans watch live video game tournaments online as well as in packed stadiums.

In July, ELEAGUE will also host the first-ever Gears 5 esports tournament and reveal its first multiplayer mode in action, with coverage streamed on Twitch and Bleacher Report Live. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

For Turner, the partnership is another opportunity to serve its sports and entertainment audience while also reaching new segments of the ballooning gaming viewership.

“The audience is the most coveted demographic in the media landscape,” said Craig Barry, Chief Content officer for Turner Sports. “We know they’re out there, we know they’re engaged. No one’s really cracked the code yet.”

Esports fans are younger, more interactive and often more affluent than other sports audiences.

Global esports revenues will grow nearly 27% to $1.1 billion this year, according to Newzoo research.

Those numbers include all aspects of the industry, so ELEAGUE is targeting a smaller slice with Gears.

Gears – developed by The Coalition, a studio within Microsoft’s gaming business – has particularly impassioned fans, said Rose Gunson, Program Manager for Gears of War at Microsoft.

“Our players are very engaging, they have huge personalities. They are very interesting to watch,” she said.

The NBA is continuing to mull changes that could make the future of the league competition look like European football, with tournaments that take place during the season along with league games

Commissioner Adam Silver mentioned everything from shorter games to a shorter season (currently 82 games) as ways the NBA could make its future product better for players and fans.

The Associated Press reports:

“The format we have in place now – I’m a traditionalist on one hand, but on the other hand it’s 50 years old or so, presenting an 82-game season, and there’s nothing magical about it,” Silver said.

“I think it’s on the league office to always be challenging the way we do things, to be paying attention to changing viewer habits, a changing marketplace, a new world of the way media is presented, often on smaller devices, less on screens, people having shorter attention spans, and saying, `This is an incredible game, it’s never been more exciting, the athleticism has never been greater, fantastic players coming from all around the world, but what’s the best way to put the season together?”‘

Silver also mentioned the possibility of trimming games from 48 minutes to 40, which is the length of college and international games.

Silver has focused on player health as commissioner, opening the regular season earlier to reduce the frequency of back-to-back games, and lengthening the All-Star break.

But players are still sitting out games throughout the season – either by their choice or because their teams are requiring it – often for reasons being listed as load management.

“I think a fair point from fans could be if ultimately the science suggests that 82 games is too many games for these players, maybe you shouldn’t have an 82-game season,” Silver said. “I accept that, and that’s something we’ll continue to look at.”

Fewer games could mean less revenue, unless they could be replaced by something that would generate as many or more viewers. Tournaments could be an answer, even if 82 games remains the format.

Silver has pointed to European soccer as something that could bring new interest to the NBA by offering teams more opportunities to win something, instead of just having one champion.

“That’s why I’m particularly interested in looking at different kinds of formats — at midseason tournaments, for example, play-in tournaments — because even accepting that players have so many miles on their bodies, there may be better ways to present it,” Silver said.

“Assuming guys are going to play 82 games, maybe there should be a certain number of games in the regular season and then there should be two tournaments throughout the season.”

He acknowledged that model would require a change of thinking in American fans, who are used to only caring about the winner of the NBA Finals.

He cautioned that none of the changes he discussed after the league’s Board of Governors meetings were close to being implemented, and would continue to be studied within the league, perhaps for a few years.

“Part of it is just the formality that they need to be negotiated with the Players Association, but even if the Players Association came to us and said, ‘You guys know best, what is it you want,’ I wouldn’t know how to answer it,” Silver said. “I think it’s going to require a lot more research, a lot more thoughtfulness on behalf of the teams, players and the league working together.”

World Rugby has appointed Strive Sponsorship, the sport and entertainment marketing consultancy, to evaluate relevant opportunities within the video gaming and esports industry.

Video gaming and esports has enjoyed notable participation and viewership growth, and demonstrated impressive engagement rates, despite the battle for people’s attention intensifying.  All Ears Group’s FIFA TribeAllTruth report showed 56% of FIFA gamers had played for over 47 hours in the first seven months of 2018 alone, as long as a regular football season.

As the traditional media landscape fragments, engaging fans across multiple touch points grows in complexity and priority.  Tapping into the digitally native gaming and esports industries could offer unique opportunities to address these current challenges.

Tom Hill, Chief Commercial Officer at World Rugby, said: “We’re keen to better educate ourselves in the world of gaming and esports prior to making an assessment of what opportunities may exist in helping us achieve our objectives.

Strive’s intrinsic understanding and strong track record in sport, esports and gaming – and their intersection, gives us the confidence that we’re getting the best advice to make key strategic decisions.”

Malph Minns, Managing Director of Strive Sponsorship, said: “Gaming and esports is a multifaceted and ever-evolving landscape, evidenced by the fact we have has seen 14 different operating models adopted by sports organisations in esports to date. We’re thrilled to be working with World Rugby to help educate them on the space and explore potential opportunities that play specifically to their objectives, key target audiences and territories.”

The goals are as straightforward as they are ambitious. To make London the most physically active city in the world, and to get one million Londoners more active by 2020.

Being the driver in making it happen is the role of London Sport, which was created in 2014 with the support of Sport England, London Councils and the Mayor of London, to help physical activity and sport to work better in London.

Research released last week shows The increase in activity levels in London over the past 12 months stands at 2.2%, the largest increase in the UK during the period.

Technology plays a big part in promoting sports participation and Alex Zurita, London Sport’s Specialist Advisor, Technology for Participation, explains how in this wide-ranging interview with iSportconnect TV.

One of the most important initiatives has been the creation of the Sport Tech Hub, empowering and scaling early-stage tech start-ups to encourage more people to embrace a physically active lifestyle.

Iain Edmondson, Director of the International Association of Event Hosts, interviewed Alex at the House of Sport, which was opened in 2017 and now brings together under one roof 30 different organisations, driving transformation for London and beyond.

Enjoy the interview, which is full of valuable insights for cities tackling the practicalities of encouraging sport.for a healthier population.

The rearranged 2019 World Para Swimming Championships will take place in London from September 9-15, World Para Swimming has announced.

The London Aquatics Centre, located on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, played host to the swimming events at the London 2012 Paralympic Games, and will once again welcome the best in the world later this year.

Around 600 swimmers from 60 nations are set to compete in the Championships which is a qualifier to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

Channel 4, the UK’s Paralympic broadcaster, intend to show the World Para Swimming Championships live this September.

The decision to stage the event in the British capital follows the International Paralympic Committee’s decision earlier this year to strip Malaysia of the right to host the event.

The Malaysian government failed to provide the IPC with the necessary guarantees that Israeli Para swimmers could participate, free from discrimination, and safely in the Championships.

London 2019, a key qualifier for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, will be the ninth edition of the World Para Swimming Championships and marks the second time the event has been staged in Great Britain following the 2015 edition in Glasgow.

IPC President Andrew Parsons said: “I cannot thank the Mayor of London, UK Sport and British Swimming enough for their outstanding efforts stepping in to stage and support this Championships, a key Tokyo 2020 qualifier, at such short notice.”

“We appreciate that the dates are not identical to the ones we had originally planned in Malaysia and these new dates will have an impact on the performance programmes of Para swimmers. However, following the cancellation of Malaysia and the opening of a new bidding process it simply was not feasible to organise a new event for the end of July and early August.”

UK Sport Chair Dame Katherine Grainger said: “We are thrilled that we have been able to step in at very short notice to host the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships. The UK is now a true world leader when it comes to hosting sporting events and our innovative approach to staging competition combined with our passionate fans will ensure this is a fantastic edition of the World Championships.”

Maurice Watkins CBE, Chairman of British Swimming, added: “This is fantastic news for both swimming and the Para sport movement, and I’m delighted that London has been able to step in to host the Championships at such short notice. Whilst there is a lot to do between now and September, I have no doubt that everybody involved will work tirelessly to put on a great show for athletes and fans alike.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m delighted London will host yet another world-class sporting event and that we will once again be able to show our support for the Para sport movement.”