Championship Gaming Series Announces Renewal Of Mountain Dew Partnership
Los Angeles, CA - November 15, 2007 - The Championship Gaming Series TM (CGS), the only worldwide professional gaming league, today announced that Mountain Dew will continue its partnership with CGS. This alliance supports the league's effort to drive professional gaming into the mainstream as the next wave of sports entertainment.
"We believe CGS has the vision, infrastructure and resources to help transform video-gaming into a popular spectator sport in the U.S.," said Frank Cooper, VP of marketing for Pepsi-Cola North America's flavors portfolio. "Our ongoing partnership with the premier league strengthens Mountain Dew's role as a leading non-endemic brand supporting gaming culture."
Mountain Dew has renewed its arrangement with CGS for an additional year following the rapid growth of the league and its enthusiastic reception by fans. There are now 18 CGS teams in cities around the world including six teams in the United States.
This announcement coincides with the CGS World Final, taking place December 6-14 in Los Angeles, CA. The top 12 CGS teams will vie for a share of a $1,000,000 prize purse and the coveted "World Champion" title.
Mountain Dew's partnership with the league includes consumer and retail promotions, TV integration, unique event marketing opportunities, as well as the coveted Dew Trophy to be awarded to the CGS World Champion along with the $500,000 top prize.
"Mountain Dew is a great brand, a perfect fit for our audience, and has been a wonderful partner," said CGS Commissioner and CEO Andy Reif. "Their support has allowed us to launch the first-ever professional gaming league, worldwide, and set a new standard for the sport."
Valve's Counter-Strike®: Source® and EA's FIFA 2007 are the official PC games for CGS. On the Xbox 360, CGS features Tecmo's Dead or Alive® 4 (DOA4) and Project Gotham Racing® 3 (PGR3) from Microsoft Game Studios.
Each CGS team features a total of ten athletes, each specializing in an official League game. Five of the ten players comprise a Counter-Strike: Source squad which competes in five-on-five matches. FIFA 07 is played one-on-one. Each CGS team also has a mixed-doubles team of two DOA4 players, who will play against other teams in one-on-one matches on Xbox 360. The racing game PGR3 is played by two players on each team in a two-versus-two format.
CGS is e broadcast on television to more than 350 million viewers by DIRECTV's The 101 in the U.S., BSkyB's Sky One, Sky Two and Sky HD in the UK, ESPN STAR Sports in Asia, SKY in Mexico and Brazil, DIRECTV throughout the rest of Latin America, and across mainland Europe via additional soon-to-be confirmed broadcast partners.
For more information, please go to thecgs.com.
About Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew is a product of the Purchase, N.Y.-based Pepsi-Cola North America ( www.pepsi.com), the refreshment beverage unit of PepsiCo, Inc., in the United States and Canada. Pepsi-Cola North America's other brands include Pepsi, Aquafina, Sierra Mist, IZZE, SoBe, Mug, Tropicana Twister Soda, Tropicana Juice Drinks, Dole and Ocean Spray single-serve juices. The company also makes and markets North America's best-selling ready-to-drink iced teas and coffees, respectively, via joint ventures with Lipton and Starbucks.
About Championship Gaming Series
Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, the Championship Gaming Series (CGS) is the only worldwide professional video gaming league. Launched in 2007, and a joint venture between BSkyB, DIRECTV and STAR, CGS features teams of the world's best gamers from North America, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. The league distributes entertainment content to more than 350 million viewers worldwide via DIRECTV in North America and Latin America, BSkyB in the UK, and STAR in Asia and Australia. CGS sponsors include Mountain Dew, Dell XPS and Xbox 360.
Media Contact:
Christian Averill
Fleishman-Hillard
212-453-2340
christian.averill@fleishman.com