XLEAGUE.tv prides itself on being the UK’s very first gaming TV channel, “bringing you the very best in eSports Entertainment”, but what is it really all about?

Cadred.org talks to Lee Catania, in an exclusive interview, about the company, how it operates, and its future plans

Hi Lee, first off could you please introduce yourself for me, what your job title and role is at XLEAGUE.tv, and what your day-to-day duties are?

Hi, I am Lee Catania, Marketing Manager for XLEAGUE.TV.

My daily duties range from Organising PR, Interviews, Print, Online, Radio and Television Advertising to Website and Creative Design.

The aim of XLEAGUE.TV is to provide the public with the UK's first dedicated Gaming Channel, 24 hours a day. This is in conjunction with our continuous on-going leagues and tournaments on a wide range of platforms and genres. The overall aim is to provide and bring together gamers under one umbrella, whether you play PC or PS3.

Ideally we want to create celebrities, competitive gaming and push gaming as a sport, one which takes time, dedication and skill to be at the forefront of.

We are after all "The eSports Channel".

Are the games you show mainly the higher end of competitive gaming, or do you also allow a lot of people who just play for a bit of fun to play on TV?

It is a mixture of both. As I have said, XLEAGUE.TV aims to bring together both your competitive/hardcore gamer and your casual gamer, offering something for everyone, whether you play seriously or simply for a laugh.

Our mixture of games appeals to those people who take it seriously and aim one day to make this their profession, and others which simply want the chance to showcase their skills on TV for a piece of local fame and celebrity!

With our range of platforms including Xbox 360, PC, PS3 and soon to be Nintendo Wii we like to think we have those bases covered.

So for the higher level of competitive gaming, do you mainly cover current competitions, or do you create your own for teams to compete in?

We cover all outside events, all tournaments as we are a dedicated TV Channel, not solely focused on XLEAGUE.TV's website. However the majority of our programming will involve dipping into our leagues, all formats and platforms, and picking out players/teams at random, inviting them into our studios and playing their league match in our "The Match" show. Plus at the end of the seasons we will have playoffs for the top teams to be crowned as champions. These will televised, as will the final stages of our XLEAGUE.TV Tournaments.

And what about the players who don't ever expect to be pro-gamers, can they set about playing on XLEAGUE.TV?

Of course they can, you will get the chance if you are top, middle or bottom of the league. We are not just about showcasing the top players, it is for all that are involved.

Everyone has an even chance.

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What games do you currently feature, and on which platforms?

We currently feature a variety of games on PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and soon to be Wii. These include Halo 2, soon to be Halo 3, Gears of War, Rainbow Six Vegas, Quake 4, C&C3, Motorstorm, Resistance Fall of Man, DOA4, PGR3, Forza 2, FIFA07, and soon to be Call of Duty 2.

We aim to keep up with what is hot online at present, plus obviously our leagues will change and expand dependent upon new releases.

Do you have any plans in the future to cover Counter-Strike: Source?

We are in discussions with Valve, however with current exclusivity deals in place with another broadcaster it restricts our ability to make Counter-Strike: Source programming.

Do you have any idea how likely it is that you may be able to get license to show CSS games along side that, perhaps on the agreement that it will never cause any scheduling problems with CGS shows?

Our understanding is that they have an exclusivity deal with precludes all other broadcasters showing televised CSS games.

However, we do aim to make an online CSS League announcement shortly.

Can you briefly outline the schedule for a typical show I might tune in to watch in the evening?

Of an evening you will get to watch a variety of shows, which of course in time will expand. We have 3 shows which stand out at present, these are The Chart, which is a weekly rundown of the Multi Platform Chart compiled by ELSPA, then Inside Gaming, which is a mixture of outside broadcasts by the XLEAGUE.TV team, developer diaries and "the making of's".

However, our flagship show is "The Match". This show is a studio based show, based upon a gaming version of Match of the Day or Super Sunday where we bring gamers (team or solo) to our studio's and into our games room. We then have a full production which will consist of presenters, analysts and commentators, as well as player profiles and interviews, before, during and after the games.

We are portraying this from a sports angle and our production team are all sports based, therefore providing quick cuts in view to give the viewer the ultimate gaming experience. Plus if you miss anything on our TV Channel, or you don’t have Sky, you can catch up on all of our action of our Web TV function (which is free) on www.xleague.tv

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Currently you can be found on Sky channel 279 and online. Do you have any plans to expand either to Virgin Media TV, or to freeview?

Yes, discussions are ongoing and we are very keen to grow our viewer base by offering our content to people unable to view at present.

You mention above all sorts of roles that your colleagues perform, roughly how many staff does XLEAGUE.TV employ?

We have 50 dedicated full-time staff at XLEAGUE.TV, plus additional part time staff involved in production.

And what about possibilities of future jobs for the gamers reading this interview? Do you often look to hire people who are very active in the gaming community, or do you aim more for people already in the media industry?

There are always opportunities available, especially as we look to grow and improve. Gamers are more than welcome to contact us regarding opportunities whether that be as part of our research or production teams, or working within the studio as commentators or analysts.

You say you cover external competitions as well as the ones organised on your website, do you aim to, in the future, and broadcast LAN events in the same way companies such as BBC and ITV cover sports events such as the Football World Cup?

This is definitely an aim of XLEAGUE.TV, at present we attend various LAN Events providing coverage and an insight into the these events, but in the future we do aim to potentially look at organising these specifically for XLEAGUE.TV, but at present we are happy to focus on the best events with the best gamers on show outside of XLEAGUE.TV.

As part of a company with such a big investment in competitive gaming, where do you see Electronic Sports as being in a few years time?

XLEAGUE.TV aims to bring about the age of true professional gaming in the UK. People within established media are coming round to the idea that eSports should be taken far more seriously and once this is universally acknowledged we see a bright future for eSports and the arrival of eSports celebrities in terms of mainstream coverage.

We foresee Gaming becoming even larger than it currently is and once it gets recognised for what it is in terms of the skill and dedication involved within becoming not only the best but competitive, XLEAGUE.TV can only see it progressing to the point where gamers are recognised stars in the UK.

Thanks a lot Lee for taking the time to talk to me, and thanks also Edwin Matthews, who also discussed XLEAGUE.TV with me (though not in this interview).

Link: XLEAGUE.TV