KRAFTON India, the developer of Battlegrounds Mobile India, has partnered with streaming platform JioCinema for the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series 2023 (BGIS).
As a result of the partnership, BGIS 2023 action will be broadcast on JioCinema as of August 17th. This includes the currently ongoing BGIS 2023: The Grind, Battlegrounds Mobile India’s qualification series for the event.
The BGIS 2023 is the largest tournament of the country’s Battlegrounds Mobile scene. More than 2,000 teams are expected to compete in the competition’s Main Stage, with the competition featuring a prize pool of INR 2 Crores (~£190,000). The winning team will earn INR 75 Lakhs (~£71,200).
JioCinema will broadcast the tournament starting August 17th with the final stage of BGIS 2023 The Grind, followed by Round 1 of BGIS beginning August 31st. The Grand Finals will take place from October 12th – 14th. The broadcast will be available in 10 different languages, including Hindi and English.
BGMI is KRAFTON’s India-exclusive title of the PUBG franchise. It was launched on July 2nd 2021 after the global version of the game was banned in the country. About a year later, BGMI was removed from App Stores again, just to be brought back on May 27th this year.
Despite the complications, BGMI has maintained a consistent fanbase across the years. According to Niko Partners, nearly half of all mobile gamers in India played the game before its ban. Afterwards, 59% of those continued to play BGMI, with 12% switching to another title.
With JioCinema as a partner, KRAFTON hopes to further solidify its position in the Indian esports market. Jio Cinema is one of the country’s biggest streaming platforms and has the potential to introduce a larger audience to Indian esports.
Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of KRAFTON India, commented on the partnership: “We are thrilled to collaborate with JioCinema to bring the BGIS 2023 to our passionate fans in a way that has never been done before. JioCinema is a pioneer in bringing enthralling content to its viewers and we are confident that it is the perfect platform for BGIS to deliver an unforgettable tournament, elevating the Esports experience for millions of viewers.
“With this partnership, we hope to transform the consumption of Esports in the country and inspire the next generation of Esports champions.”
KRAFTON is not the only organisation to promote Indian esports with key stakeholders in the country. For instance, Asian esports and gaming company Ampverse formed a joint venture with financial company DMI Finance on May 25th in an effort to grow esports in India.
India’s esports ecosystem has also seen further expansions by local organisations, including Skyesports. The esports and gaming company announced Skyesports Masters, India’s first franchised CS:GO esports league, on April 14th.
