PVR, NODWIN Gaming Tie Up For Esports Tournaments Live Streaming In Cinemas

PVR Limited, India’s largest cinema exhibition company, and e-sports and gaming company NODWIN Gaming announced a new partnership for India's first in-cinema esports live tournaments together, beginning with Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), the version of PUBG exclusively for India.

The pilot will begin with the popular game and going forward would include games from different genres. Gamers and gaming enthusiasts across the country will be able to participate in online esports cups and in-cinema tournaments with separate prize pools for each city.

This initiative is expected to fast track esports entertainment’s growth trajectory in India by combining the appeal of esports gaming with the magic of big screen experience.

Esports has a growing market in India. According to research from EY in August, the esports market size in India was Rs 300 crore in FY2021 and it expects it to reach Rs 1,100 crore by FY2025.

However, the sport has a much larger economic impact: we expect it to generate economic value of around Rs 10,000 crore between now and FY25. The consultancy expects 1.5 million players, 85 million viewers, and over 20 broadcasters and several brands, organizers and publishers to collectively define the esports market in India by FY2025.

The quarter-final, semi-final and finals of the cups, in each participating city, will be broadcasted in select PVR Cinemas, along with live streams on various digital platforms, including NODWIN Facebook and Youtube pages, PVR's website and mobile app.

The tickets will be priced at Rs 150-200 initially. "“Our purpose at PVR is to gather, grow and entertain communities. With us becoming a part of the Indian esports ecosystem, we have the opportunity to serve our purpose by giving PVR communities another entertaining way to gather on our esports platform. NODWIN team has a relentless passion for gaming, we are delighted to be partnering with them on this initiative,” said Kamal Gianchandani, Chief of Strategy, PVR Limited in a statement.

The esports scenario is very well developed in China, where it is played and watched like professional sports organization or franchise. "Players are contracted by professional teams, both specializing and competing in one or more specific video games. In contrast to mainstream professional sports, in lieu of athletic equipment, esports players typically come geared with a gaming PC rig that boast specialized keyboards, gaming mice, graphic cards, and other helpful gadgets," explains The China Guys, a web portals that studies and explains the businesses and economic insights on China.

“NODWIN Gaming has always emphasized on the importance of reinforcing grassroot development that can be a strong and reliable foundation for esports, and this property is a step in that direction. City-level penetration of professional esports leads to solid exposure for the grassroot ecosystem and as seen in the past, the more exposed the grassroots is, the better it gets at the higher tiers. This in turn paves the way for collective growth of all tiers of professional players. Our association with PVR Cinemas opens a corridor towards mainstreaming esports and placing it right in the middle of the entertainment industry. Esports as an upcoming medium of interactive entertainment has had its fair share of visibility in the jam-packed arenas but it’s about time that we bring action to the silver screen. NODWIN, along with building grassroots, will also give its audience a premium watching experience with this partnership”, said Akshat Rathee, managing director and co-founder, NODWIN Gaming.

“At PVR, we strive to continually evolve as an entertainment destination, offering our customers the opportunity to have an entertaining escape into more than just big films. Our immersive environment lends itself particularly well to the gaming community, putting players in the universes in which they are competing. We are excited to bring big games to the big screen in collaboration with NODWIN Gaming”, said Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, Joint Managing Director, PVR Limited.