Esports platform BoomTV acquires collegiate organizer American Video Game League
Esports platform BoomTV has acquired the collegiate esports production company American Video Game League.
The acquisition will enable AVGL to integrate more fully into BoomTV’s community- and event-organizing infrastructure. AVGL currently coordinates esports events for over 1,200 colleges. The financial details of the acquisition were not revealed.
BoomTV uses a “self-driving esports technology layer” to help individuals, organizations, and brands create, participate in, and spectate esports events. The platform offers users services such as automatic score tracking, streaming capabilities, and infrastructure for creating event hubs.
BoomTV is especially known for its bi-weekly Code Red events, which feature popular streamers including Ninja, CouRageJD, and Nick Eh 30. These events are streamed by as many as 5 million viewers, totaling over 30 million total minutes watched.
AVGL CEO Victor Suski says of the acquisition “Our focus has always been to provide the best competitive experiences for collegiate esports players and fans, and the BoomTV platform will achieve this at scale. This strategic acquisition allows us to offer colleges tools and events needed for expansion. This is a huge step forward for the AVGL and collegiate esports.”
Acquisition to deepen existing relationship
BoomTV and AVGL have collaborated on events multiple times.
In March, AVGL partnered with BoomTV to produce the Code Red AVGL Collegiate Fortnite Qualifiers. The event saw five top collegiate teams competing against established professional Fortnite players for a shot at a $10,000 prize pool.
The following August, the two companies partnered again on a Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 tournament. The tournament had a $10,000 prize pool and resulted in the generation of an official collegiate Call of Duty leaderboard.
NCAA abstaining from esports governance creates infrastructure vacuum
In April, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the body that governs collegiate sports, opted not to extend its purview to cover esports. The institution’s Board of Governors voted unanimously to table the discussion indefinitely, leaving a vacuum of official infrastructure that AVGL has helped fill.
Official collegiate esports organizations are still scattered and lacking oversight, but the scene is developing rapidly. College League of Legends and Collegiate Rocket League are both official multi-college bodies that existed before the NCAA’s decision. The National Association of Collegiate Esports is another grassroots attempt to create official collegiate esports infrastructure.
ESPN held the Collegiate Esports Championship from May 10-12 in Houston, Texas. The event featured collegiate-level teams competing in Overwatch, Street Fighter V, Hearthstone, and Starcraft II.