E-sports consultant Rod Breslau shared a news story that ABC and ESPN won’t be airing the Xgames Apex Legends EXP Invitational event on ESPN TV in light of the recent shootings that took place in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.
Breslau revealed the news via a tweet on August 8th, 2019.
ESPN and ABC has made the decision not to air the TV broadcast of the XGames Apex Legends EXP Invitational that was scheduled for this weekend, in response to the recent mass shootings, according to an ABC Affiliate TV station source pic.twitter.com/6BMwdbk93t
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) August 8, 2019
If the image is not displaying or you’re unable to view the letter that was sent out by ABC, it states…
“Out of respect for the victims and all those impacted by the recent shootings, ABC will no longer air “EXP Invitational APEX Legends at X Games” on Sunday, August 11, 2019 in the 4:00 – 5:00 PM ET /3:00 – 4:00 PM PT time period. “E:60 – Forever Broncos” will now air in the same time period. An official booking will be issued shortly.”
Bloomberg confirmed the news with a follow-up report, noting that this cancellation of the television airing for the Apex Legends invitational was an “internal” “matter’.
Breslau, however, followed-up his tweets noting that there will still be a recap on ESPN 3, but any airings that were scheduled on ESPN or ESPN2 have been rescheduled for a later date.
note the EXP Apex Legends X Games tournament itself already happened this past weekend and can be found on the ESPN esports YouTube, this is just for the ESPN TV broadcast
— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) August 8, 2019
This all comes after President Trump and other politicians put a big red spotlight on the video game industry, blaming it for the recent shootings. Trump called for tighter regulations on violent video games, but many pundits say that not much could be done given that in the 2011 Supreme Court ruling they were granted protection under the First Amendment. However, there have been calls for additional ratings, penalties on retailers, or additional taxes on violent video games to work as a deterrent from companies making ‘M’ rated titles.
The chilling effect is already taking place, with retailers like Walmart removing all in-store promotional ads or displays for violent games, first-person shooters, or third-person shooters, specifically for the PS4 and Xbox One.
If more companies are compelled to shun or restrict access to violent games, it could very well result in publishers enacting a self-censorship practice, not unlike how companies now self-censor fan-service to comply with Sony’s PS4 censorship policies. Only this time, instead of the sexy-time content getting censored, it would be violence and gore.
(Thanks for the news tip Mike)
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