OGN - the OG Esports Network and Content Creator for 18+ Years - Launches in U.S. with New Los Angeles Arena & Studio

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- OGN, the first and leading esports network and content producer in the world for nearly two decades, has announced today that it will be launching in the U.S.

With a major investment in the North American market, OGN is kicking off this expansion by opening a new arena and studio in Manhattan Beach, California, and a plan to produce live events and other esports content.  This will include the new OGN Super League (OSL) as well as OGN Super Match (OSM) invitational competitions.  

The Los Angeles metro-area studio will become the largest on the west coast at 35,000 square feet and with a 500-audience seat and 100 player-seat capacity.  It will also be the only arena in the country that will have a specialized stage set-up for battle royale format competitions such as OGN's first official game partner, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG).

OGN, a division of one of the largest entertainment companies in Asia, CJ ENM, began before the word 'esports' started making its way into the gamer lexicon. OGN is bringing to the North American esports scene a vast knowledge of how to produce, execute and broadcast massive esports events, leagues and related content - built from 18+ years of experience doing so around the world.  For example, since launching in 2000, OGN has racked up some impressive stats:

• 150+ countries in which OGN has broadcast esports
• 500+ global leagues and events have been produced by OGN
• 3000+ hours of esports content is created by OGN annually
• 200 Million live stream views of OGN's esports programming are generated per year
• 2.1M+  accumulated number of attendees to OGN esports events past 18 years  

The world's first esports event produced by OGN with Starcraft in 2004, Busan, South Korea, amazed the gaming world with over 100,000 attendees. Since then, events produced by OGN have logged live audiences of more than 100,000, and viewers in the millions.

Overseeing OGN operations in North America will be DJ Lee, the newly appointed CEO of CJ ENM America, who comes to the U.S. after leading CJ's vast library of television channels, including the original OGN.

"The moment is right to bring our experience in esports to North America and present a business model that we see as win-win for everyone – from game publishers to brands. Bringing the OGN playbook to this rapidly growing esports market will provide a robust opportunity to connect and engage with the next generations of gamers and fans," said DJ Lee, CEO, CJ ENM America.

This launch builds not only on OGN's international esports credentials, but also the content and live events production expertise of parent company CJ ENM, which has successfully brought its brand of music, film, television and live events to growing and loyal audiences in North America and around the world.  For example, KCON, the world's largest festival dedicated to Korean pop culture, and MAMA, Asia's largest music award show, regularly attract 140,000 and 35,000, respectively, and CJ Entertainment, which has produced and distributed a great deal of the best film and television from South Korea known to U.S. audiences.

National PUBG League, OGN Super League and OGN Super Match

Among the first initiatives being rolled out as part of OGN's U.S. launch is the National PUBG League (NPL), a live, weekly competition centered around one of the most popular battle royale games in the world. Initially available to be streamed on OGN's Twitch channel, live PUBG competitions will feature the top teams in North America, in a Hunger Games-style last-man-standing match. OGN is the exclusive partner for 2019 National PUBG Leauge events in North America.

OGN will also roll out OSL tournaments in 2019, a game-agnostic league with weekly competitions featuring a seasonal rotation of trending titles. In addition, OGN will host large-scale events called the OGN Super Match (OSM). These will be invitational matches bringing together the best of the best for a one time battle outside of normal league play.

Additionally, OGN will take advantage of its new arena/studio/U.S. headquarters - located at  Manhattan Beach Studios (1809 Manhattan Beach Blvd) - and will also be producing esports-related premium programming including interactive game shows, docu-series on teams and players, virtual reality shows and scrimmage matches between known U.S. celebrities and esports professionals.

About OGN
Founded in 2000, OGN is the world's longest-running and largest esports producer and network.  For nearly two decades, it has built an impressive track record creating successful live esports competitions and other related premium content around the top games in the world. This includes producing the world's first global leagues for StarCraft II, League of Legends, Overwatch and Playerunknown's Battlegrounds. Since its inception, OGN has produced more than 500 global leagues and events to date and generated over 2 billion live stream views of esports programming. A subsidiary of one of Asia's largest media companies, CJ ENM, OGN sets itself apart through its best-in-class production techniques and producers and directors with unparalleled esports expertise, and an executive team with years of experience creating premium, entertaining content globally. For more information, please visit www.OGNesports.com or follow us @OGNesports on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For live streams of latest competitions and a library of video contents, please subscribe to Twitch and Youtube.  

About CJ ENM
CJ ENM is Asia's leading entertainment and merchandising company headquartered in Seoul, Korea. As of July 1, 2018, CJ E&M has merged with CJ Group's home shopping and e-commerce subsidiary CJ O Shopping to become CJ ENM. Its entertainment division has six main business units - broadcast, film (CJ Entertainment), music, live entertainment, esports (OGN) and animation. CJ has been contributing to promote Korean culture around the world, through the company's 'One Source, Multi-Content' strategy. As a trend leader in Asia, it has produced and distributed various popular content, some of which include Asia's largest music awards Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA), leading Hallyu convention KCON, Tony Award-winning musical Kinky Boots, record-breaking box office hits Roaring Currents, Ode to My Father and Veteran, along with sought-after television series such as Guardian: The Lonely and Great God, Youn's Kitchen, Super Star K, Show Me the Money and Produce 101. For more information, please visit: http://www.cjenm.com

Media Contact:
Kevin Broderick
The Lippin Group / LA
[email protected]
323-965-1990

Matt Biscuiti
The Lippin Group / NY
[email protected]
212-986-7080

SOURCE OGN

Related Links

http://www.OGNesports.com