Since it was founded in 2002, Major League Gaming (MLG) has grown each year. But nothing compares to the record-breaking 2011 season, which has seen millions of gamers tune in for live streams of tour stops and upwards of 20,000 people coming in person to check out the virtual competition. This is good news for both the mainstream and gamer-focused sponsors like Nos, Sony Ericsson, Stride and PlayStation that are targeting both the attendees and the global audience that tunes in for the live streams of these competitions.

Sundance DiGiovanni, co-founder and CEO of MLG, has big plans for what’s grown into an international pro gaming phenomenon. DiGiovanni talks about some of the changes in store for the 2012 season, how IMG Worldwide is helping with international expansion, and how he sees pro gaming evolving in this exclusive interview.

Why do you think MLG is seeing record attendance and live streaming this year?

We’ve been at this for quite a while now and one of the things that’s often lost on people is that every year new people are brought in both by existing community members and new games. We’re finally in a position where there’s just a general awareness level that’s higher than it’s ever been. The kids who are 16 years old this year were 8 when we started, and they’re playing these games and are aware of these games. Add to that the fact that the global interest in games like Starcraft 2 is high and I think there’s a real opportunity for an organization such as MLG, which strives to put on a great show to entice viewers. We’re catering to everyone from the hardcore players down to the folks who are slightly more casual around the competitive scene, but just interested in the games.

When it comes to your audience, do you have a sense of how many people are watching MLG from other countries?

171 countries tuned into our broadcast from Anaheim, so we’re pretty much covering the globe. It’s about 45-55 split with internationalized making up about 55 percent of that audience.

How have those numbers evolved over the years?

Our overall audience is increasing everywhere. The bigger difference is that our international audience is actually growing at a slightly greater rate than the U.S. audience because we’ve always been primarily strongest here in North America. The relationship that we have with IMG Worldwide has helped us grow the international audiences, which has been their focal point. So we expect those numbers to go up at a greater rate.

When you look at the success that pro gaming has had in Asia and even in Europe, how far away is the U.S. from getting to that point?

I think the size of the audience in the U.S. will be larger within the next 18 months just because one of the issues that we’ve had here is accessibility. We’ve had our league structure and tournament structures where there are peaks and valleys. It’s not an ongoing activity. If you look at what happens in Southeast Asia, it’s regularly scheduled matches and leagues and the players have built up over time because there are historical match records and every day or every week there’s meaningful competition. Our plan is to move towards a model which supports that next year, so that we will be able to pump out content far more regularly. Without that, what you have is fits and starts. And we’ve seen time and time again that consistency is key when building and establishing a brand. We tend to get distracted easily as a viewing audience in North America, but if you give somebody a regularly scheduled set of matches and league activity, it’s much easier to pull people in.

Would that be more about adding tour stops or more competitions between tour stops?

One of our plans is to build something which will support both. Right now we have 18 days a year where we have meaningful competition. We have the six pro circuit stops. Next year we’re looking at between 44 to 50 weeks of meaningful competition play happening in a combination of these tour stops, but also a central location for league activity to take place.

And would New York City serve as MLG’s central hub since you’re based there?

I can’t comment on it yet.

Are you basing this new season model on what other leagues in other countries do?

Our approach has always been to look at traditional sports and activities and now we’re in a position where we have an opportunity to blow out what we do. What happens in Europe and in Asia definitely factors into it, but we’re trying to create an opportunity which leverages what we’ve already seen succeed here in North America. Plus we need the tried-and-true level of providing compelling and entertaining competitive activity. You need a season structure. You need a beginning, middle, and end. You need rivalries. You need stars. What we’re building for next year helps support all of those things in a more easily digestible manner for both the hardcore audience, as well as people who coming across this for the first time.

Will you guys be expanding the actual length of the season next year?

The season structure we can’t comment on at the moment, but basically the season structure is going to support distinct seasons which resolve in large live events and then they have an online component, so it’s going to be a better true blend of what we currently have running. But they’re going to be more accessible and more appealing to both teams and organizations, or support teams, as well as the audience.

How long is your season this year?

We start at the beginning of the year and our season ends in November. It’s basically a year long, but next year it will be more seasonal. The seasons will be broken down into shorter runs with a championship at the end of the year.

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