MLG partners with Relativity Media

MLG and Relativity Media today announced a "strategic content and marketing partnership" that will span sports management, television, film, and digital media.

As part of the deal, Relativity Media CEO Ryan Kavanaugh has joined the MLG Board of Directors. He will work with the MLG executive team to "further the company's position as a mainstream media property and breakout sport of the future."

MLG and Relativity Media will work together in a number of ways, the first of which is related to sports management. Collaborations between the MLG and Relativity Sports clients from the NBA, NFL, and MLB are said to increase. Earlier this year, the NBA's Dwight Howard and the NFL's Dez Bryant were featured in an All-Star Showdown during MLG Anaheim.

Relativity Media will also assist MLG's executive team in creating a "successful growth model" for its eSports endeavors.

The second pillar of the MLG/Relativity Media partnership will come through television and film. As part of the deal, Relativity Television will now act as the exclusive developer of unscripted MLG programming. This includes feature films, though none were named.

Relativity Media has produced numerous films, including The Social Network and Bridesmaids.

The third component of the MLG/Relativity Media partnership is for new digital programming to be released through www.MLG.tv, described as "extensive" and "premium." The first in this campaign, a new show called eSports Report, will debut this Thursday, October 24, at 7 p.m.

"Since our inception, our goal has been to turn competitive video gaming into the ultimate digital spectator sport," MLG CEO Sundance DiGiovanni said in a statement. "Through this collaboration with Relativity, we will now introduce MLG's premium content and competition to an even broader global, mainstream audience across feature films, television, sports, and digital."