Activision Blizzard
In January 2016, Activision Blizzard, publishers of the "Call of Duty" and "StarCraft" series, acquired Major League Gaming. In an interview with "The New York Times" about the purchase, Activision Blizzard CEO Robert Kotick explained that the company was aspiring to create a U.S. cable network devoted to esports, which he described as "the ESPN of video games". He felt that higher quality productions, more in line with those of traditional sports telecasts, could help to broaden the appeal of esports to advertisers. Activision Blizzard had hired former ESPN and NFL Network executive Steve Bornstein to be CEO of the company's esports division.