Angel, this question is directed specifically to you from Nemes1S, What role do you think this move will play in introducing e-sports into the main stream of professional sports?

Angel: Nemes1S thanks for the question. I think that DirecTV's entry into e-sports will have a huge ripple effect throughout the entire pro-gaming scene. DirecTV is dedicating a huge amount of resources to make sure that the sport is presented in a credible fashion, while remaining interesting to the general viewing audience. Some of their ideas are radically different from what has been done before, and I support them. The events that they are filming this year, starting with their Invitational on July 21 (that CPL is helping with rules and management) are just the launching platform for a full 2007 season of televised events.

Steven, another question for you from Alex Drummond, Who will be doing the production? Will an outside media source be used? Meaning, will one of the existing casting companies in e-sports be brought in to handle it, or will CPL/DirecTV opt for a professional television production company.

Steven: We will be tapping into the expertise of some people and companies that have the credibility in the gaming community to execute key elements of the competition, including the CPL. Regarding television production, we will be using experts that have produced such events as the Superbowl, Olympics, Major League Baseball and the NBA Finals. We have spared no expense to deliver the best playing and viewing experience. As a result, we have brought in the best in every category. We will send out a release with more details about this in a few weeks.

The press release talks about the arrangements for this year, particularly focusing on the CPL Winter 2006 event. Angel, can you tell us anything else about the other events in 2006? Does DirecTV have any plans for them?

Angel: DirecTV has purchased options for television coverage for all of our 2006 events and has already exercised their option to broadcast our CPL Winter 2006 Championships. Once we announce our full schedule of global events, DirecTV will determine which international events they want to cover. Let's not forget that GotFrag TV has also purchased the online coverage rights to all of our 2006 events and that Cohesion Productions has purchased the documentary rights for the 2006 season. So our 2006 season will have heightened coverage.

Steven: Our first event The Championship Gaming Invitational will be held on July 21, 2006 in San Francisco. We are committed to two other events in 2006, one of which is the CPL Winter Finals, an event that we are very excited about. We will be providing more info about Champion Gaming Series in the fall. One thing you can be assured of is that the CGS events will elevate esports to an unprecedented level.

DirecTV also announced the Championship Gaming Series (CGS) earlier this year alongside IGN, Microsoft Xbox, Mountain Dew, Fox Interactive Media, and Best Buy. How does the CPL fit into the CGS?

Angel: For months we have been in consultation with DirecTV about CGS, and CPL is assisting with strategies, policies, rules, communication and management. Both Steven and I would like to see this relationship grow through 2007 and hopefully culminate with a fulfillment of our shared vision: a compelling new sport watched by millions of television fans.

Steven: Angel has been incredibly helpful during this initial period of DirecTV’s gaming initiative. We have high hopes too continue and expand this relationship in the future. After all, we both want the same thing, and that is to grow esports and provide the best foundation for these gamers to flourish.

Quite a bit of our audience is also wondering which games DirecTV will be focusing on. Can you share your thoughts on what games we might be seeing, both at the CPL events and aired on DirecTV in the future?

Steven: We will be making an announcement within the next week or so regarding the games, players, and prize money for our first event. As discussed, the goal is to be true to the core gamer as well as to present some other genres that will be interesting to watch on TV.

Angel: The CPL Winter Championships, primarily sponsored by AMD and ATI and also currently co-sponsored by Pizza Hut, Verizon, BenQ, Plantronics, Razer and The Planet's Insomnia365, will host a Counter-Strike 1.6 (5 v 5) tournament and Quake 4 (1v1) tournament for the PC. We are still in discussions with some sponsors that want to host Xbox 360 tournaments. The community should expect some final announcements in a few weeks.

Angel, PenguinEater at GotFrag is wondering if there is a possibility of prize winnings increasing from the agreement?

Angel: Thanks PenguinEater for the question. The CPL prizes for Winter 2006 will be relatively modest, but as the only CPL organized and managed event of the year we expect registration to sellout almost instantly. We are introducing a new low admission price (reversing the process of the last 5 years), but still the limitation of space at the Hyatt Regency and the huge exhibition interest will limit the number of registrations that we allow for this event.

Could we get some basic information on the broadcasts? For those of us that have DirecTV, what channel are we going to be able to watch this on? Which timeslots? And what kind of programming can we look forward to (Live coverage? News shows? Highlight reels? RealityTV programming)? Our international audience is also wondering, will DirecTV be presenting this on a channel that they will be able to watch it on?

Steven: Our gaming coverage will be on our new original programming channel named 101 (that is the channel number as well). The Championship Gaming Invitational will be aired August 25-27. There will over 4 hrs of programming for this one event alone. IGN will be reporting 24/7. There will also be a highlights show on FOX Sports Net Best Damn Sports Show. Regarding international coverage, the program should be aired on BSKYB in the UK and other News Corp outlets around the world.

Angel and Steven, thanks for the time. Best of luck with this new partnership. Any last comments?

Angel: Thanks for the good wishes and thanks to the community of gamers for their encouragement on this new relationship with DirecTV. We look forward to continue our role of assisting in the advancement of e-sports, while maintaining our close interaction with the community that has supported us for nine years.

Steven: Thanks for the opportunity to tell our story. We are looking forward to having GotFrag at our first event so that you can describe our commitment to esports in the first person. We are hopeful that over time we will earn the trust and respect that GotFrag has in the community. Congratulations.