Electronic Arts celebrated the success of a primetime show about the esports Madden Challenge that aired on the CW in December, saying its competitive gaming efforts with Madden and FIFA are appealing to a wider-than-expected audience.
The Madden Challenge Special, a one-hour pre-produced show that took viewers behind the scenes of the Madden NFL esports competition that’s part of the company’s broader Madden Championship Series, reached 670,000 viewers when it aired Dec. 27, making it the top-rated 2017 esports broadcast. The livestream of the Challenge finals represented the company’s largest digital viewership ever for a Madden tournament.
Then on Thursday in Minneapolis, the first Madden NFL Club Championship concluded with its final after a season-long NFL-wide competition.