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OGN (formerly known as Ongamenet) is a South Korean pay television channel that specialized in broadcasting
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
-related content and
esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...
matches, particularly ''
StarCraft ''StarCraft'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Chris Metzen and James Phinney and owned by Blizzard Entertainment. The series, set in the beginning of the 26th century, centers on a galactic struggle for dominance amon ...
'', ''
Starcraft II ''StarCraft II'' is a real-time strategy video game created by Blizzard Entertainment, first released in 2010. A sequel to the successful '' StarCraft'', released in 1998, it is set in a militaristic far future. The narrative centers on a galacti ...
'', ''
League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL'', commonly referred to as ''League'', is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for ''Warcraf ...
'', and
Overwatch ''Overwatch'' (abbreviated as OW) is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment. ''Overwatch (video game), Overwatch'' was released in 2016 with a success ...
. OGN ran high level professional tournaments for 20 years; its premier competition included the Ongamenet Starleague (OSL), Proleague, ''League of Legends'' Champions Korea, and ''Overwatch'' APEX. It was previously a subsidiary of
On-Media ON Media Corporation ("Orion Network Media"), is a South Korean broadcasting company. Formerly a subsidiary of Korean food company Orion Confectionery and conglomerate company Tongyang Group and Kumho Asiana Group, it was acquired by the CJ Group ...
, the parent company of several other cable channels. After a corporate merger in 2010, it became a part of
CJ ENM CJ ENM Co., Ltd (, CJ Entertainment aNd Merchandising) is a South Korean entertainment and retail company founded in 1994. CJ ENM was established as a result of the merger of two CJ Group subsidiaries, CJ ENM Entertainment Division, CJ E&M and ...
E&M Division. Most recently,
League of Legends ''League of Legends'' (''LoL'', commonly referred to as ''League'', is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by ''Defense of the Ancients'', a Mod (video games), custom map for ''Warcraf ...
statistics website, OP.GG, which also sponsored LCK since
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, has acquired OGN from CJ ENM following the shutdown of the linear TV network during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Effects on Esports

Originally starting out as a television program to follow the raising popularity of ''StarCraft'' in Korea, the successful growth of broadcast-gaming in Korea allowed the Starleague in 2000 to become its own dedicated channel on OnGameNet. Starting out with a small prize sum and very few followers, Starleague grew tremendously in its twelve-year history. It catapulted electronic gaming into a major competitive sport in Korea, with more viewers than some other professional sports. These Starleague events regularly attracted upwards of 50,000 fans. With the growth of
esports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...
, international teams began to come to Korea in order to participate in these events and have a chance at achieving stardom while also landing a professional contract with major teams such as
SK Telecom T1 T1 (previously known as SK Telecom T1 or SKT T1) is a South Korean esports organization operated by T1 Entertainment & Sports, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor. The team that would become SKT T1 was originally founded i ...
and KT Rolster. South Korea was the first country to fully popularize esports and bring it into the mainstream culture.


Tournaments


Ongamenet Starleague

The Ongamenet Starleague (OSL) was a semi annual ''StarCraft'' tournament broadcast by OnGameNet. The Starleague dated back to 1999, but it was not until 2001 that the tournaments became a professional setting. Being the oldest professional ''StarCraft'' tournament in Korea, the Starleague was considered by many to be the most prestigious ''StarCraft'' tournament in the world. During the first OSL Guillaume "Grrrr..." Patry would be the first and only non-Korean to win an individual Starleague since its inception. There had been a total of 34 OSLs for '' StarCraft: Brood War'' dating from October 1999 to August 2012. As of June 2012, the StarLeague has officially transitioned to Blizzard's newest title ''
Starcraft II ''StarCraft II'' is a real-time strategy video game created by Blizzard Entertainment, first released in 2010. A sequel to the successful '' StarCraft'', released in 1998, it is set in a militaristic far future. The narrative centers on a galacti ...
''.


Proleague

The Proleague was a Premier Brood War Team League and was formerly hosted on OGN and MBCGame. It was then solely hosted on OGN after MBC closed down its gaming venture. The Proleague allowed for fans to follow their favorite team or player. It also allowed up and coming amateurs to participate in a televised setting. There were a total of 31 Proleague events for ''Starcraft: Brood War'' from March 2003 to September 2012. As of December 2012, the Proleague moved on to ''Starcraft II''. This marked the first time since the inception of the Proleague that a non-Korean team participated in the event with the collaboration between
Evil Geniuses Evil Geniuses (EG) is an American esports organization based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. Founded in 1999, the organization has fielded players in various fighting games, ''Call of Duty (series), Call of Duty'', ''Counter-Strike ...
and
Team Liquid Team Liquid is a multi-regional professional esports organization based in the Netherlands that was founded in 2000. They signed their first professional players with the release of '' StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty''. In 2012, Team Liquid acq ...
.


The Champions / ''League of Legends'' Champions Korea

The Champions was the highest level of ''League of Legends'' competition in Korea from 2012 to 2015. The tournament officially launched in March 2012 and lasted until 2015, when The Champions was rebranded to ''League of Legends'' Champions Korea (LCK). Soon after, controversy sparked when ''League of Legends'' developer
Riot Games Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher, and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on to develop ...
declared that the broadcasting rights of the LCK would be split between OGN and its main competitor,
SPOTV SPOTV is a South Korean pay television network, which features sports programming and some sports-related talk shows. Founded in 2010, the network is the fourth Pay television, premium sports network in South Korea following by KBS N, KBS N S ...
. Many fans were disappointed by the controversial decision to split time between OGN and SPOTV because of SPOTV's lack of experience in esports broadcasting and OGN's long commitment to fostering the esports scene in Korea and being frontrunners in the esports industry as a whole. In 2019, OGN's operation of the LCK broadcast was terminated by Riot Games when it was decided that the LCK would become an in-house, first-party broadcast, produced directly by Riot Games. This transition coincided with the construction and opening of LoL Park, a new stadium and studio that would function as the new location of all LCK competition.


''Overwatch'' APEX

''Overwatch'' APEX was the first premier tournament series in South Korea for ''Overwatch'' esports and is the place where many players in the later ''Overwatch'' League found early success. The first season began in late 2016, and each tournament season took place over the course of several months, with breaks in play between each consecutive season. For its short, year-long reign, the APEX tournaments were regarded as the highest level of ''Overwatch'' competition at the time. For the first three seasons, four western teams were invited each season to compete with 12 teams from Korea. In July, 2017, it was announced that no more Western teams would be invited for APEX Season 4 onwards and all teams from APEX Season 3 and the top 5 teams from Challengers Season 4 were promoted directly to APEX Season 4. The APEX tournaments came to a close after season 4 as
Blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow th ...
's in-house ''Overwatch'' League began its first season in early 2018. OGN were not given the rights to broadcast Contenders Korea and, to establish control of all ''Overwatch'' esports activity, Blizzard placed many restrictions on third-party tournament organizers, effectively ending OGN's hopes of continuing to hosts tournaments outside of the main OWL/OWC circuit.


See also

*
On-Media ON Media Corporation ("Orion Network Media"), is a South Korean broadcasting company. Formerly a subsidiary of Korean food company Orion Confectionery and conglomerate company Tongyang Group and Kumho Asiana Group, it was acquired by the CJ Group ...


References


External links


Official Site
{{Professional StarCraft II competition CJ E&M channels Esports in South Korea Esports television On-Media television networks Television channels and stations established in 2000 2000 in video gaming