The Olympics is one of the the highest levels of professional sport competition in the world, but interest from the younger generations is not where the International Olympic Commitee (IOC) wants it. This was the reasoning behind the creation of the The Olympic Channel, a digital platform created by the IOC after the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. The goals of The Olympic channel is to maintain year round interest in the sport and to have the younger generations become interested in the Olympic Games. With the massive rise of esports becoming the main interest for a large majority of the younger generation, The Olympic Channel has decided to look into adding competitive gaming to the Olympics, according to a report from Reuters.
It may not be long before esports teams begin to compete for gold medals, alongside other Olympians.
Source: Robert Paul via Blizzard Entertainment
Executive Director Yiannis Exarchos of The Olympic Channel explained to Reuters in an interview that their platform can not ignore the billion dollar industry.
"As a youthful digital platform we cannot ignore the phenomenon of esports. With the channel after the Games we want to explore the area of esports more deeply."
With a major player, Intel, in the esports world becoming a partner of the IOC, it only seems natural that the digital platform would look to expand into the esports scene, after the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games conclude.
"We want to explore this direction. We have now a major player as a top partner of the IOC --- Intel Corp -- very much into esports precisely because Intel has a vision of seeing the Games delivered in a new, smarter and more engaging way."
This desire to work with the esports industry became clear in November 2017, when the IOC officially recognized esports as a sport, thus giving even more legitmacy to the industry to the general public.
Future Olympic Games could see fans rooting for their favorite esports athletes, alongside their favorite track athletes.
Source: Express Trainers
Issues Still Need to be Addressed
Esports being included in the Olympics is not a done deal at the moment, as the IOC and The Olympic Channel have three areas of issues that they believe need to be addressed before a true partnership is formed.
"Esports is still a very male dominated area, 85 percent to 15 percent. Secondly a lot of the content is quite violent or has the violence narrative engrained to it. This is obviously very foreign to what the Olympics represent. " Finally, the third issue being "elements that encourage sedentary lifestyle."
Exarchos does not believe that these issue can not be adressed, but realizes they need to looked at before esports can be fully integrated into the Olympics.
"I don’t believe any of those three current limitations are not addressable. I believe it is a movement that has emerged out of nowhere without necessarily clear directions. But those things can be addressed so that esports more comfortably can become part of the Olympic family, definitely the Olympic channel."
First person shooters will have a difficult time making their way into Olympic compeition, due to the violent nature of the games.
Source: PC Gamer
While there is a very strong chance we will be seeing esports competitions in the future of the Olympics, there are still major areas that need to be looked by the IOC and The Olympic Channel before any major commitment is made.
More information can be found on Reuter's website.
Interested in the kind of games that The Olympic Channel may look at for their esports competitions? Check out our list of the best sports games on the market.
