ESPN is a burgeoning powerhouse, and as it has discovered its audience is interested in more than just football and basketball - really it was the arrival of Texas Holdem which showed this most clearly. However most people only vaguely recall the previous coverage of gaming which they provided.

Closest to my heart there was a time when they covered Magic: the Gathering tournaments. I think they did maybe two of them before deciding the audience wasn’t there. They’ve also done Chess and video games, but all of which were small unheralded tests several years ago.

What we’re seeing though is an ever growing G4tv, a growing gaming coverage community (my little project humbly included), and an audience increasingly diverse. South Korea is on the vanguard of this trend, but America is close behind and all the games are slowly moving toward a central solution. Gaming is moving from the geeky few to the commercial masses.

So it seems to me that ESPN, fresh off of creating ESPNU and exploring their niche spin-offs, should begin looking towards a gaming dedicated channel and website.

Episode 6, as we mentioned last week, was nixed. But we’re back! Episode 7 is one of our best yet.

Segments:
- PT Valencia, GP Brisbane & Player of the Year Race (this segment was taken from episode 6, so it’s slightly dated.)
- Footage from the Florida State Champs
- Elves Deck, the winner of Florida Champs

Alright folks, we may be delayed with next week’s episode. Our video guy, Darren, is currently in France and so we can’t get it recorded on schedule. I’m investigating some alternatives.

See Conrad’s Elves deck as well as the other decks to Top 8 at the Florida State Champs! Click Here.

Brian & Stephen cover the usual range of strange topics on this episode of WhatTheCast. Got comments, let us know: feedback@whatthecast.com or hatemail@whatthecast.com. Notes after the cut …

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