ESPN has not been first in line to jump into the eSports world. This was very clear last year when, as we reported, ESPN President John Skipper said he doesn’t consider eSports as a sport: “It’s not a sport — it’s a competition. Chess is a competition. Checkers is a competition. Mostly, I’m interested in doing real sports.”

The mood seems to be turning. ESPN.com has posted a job for an eSports Editor:

“The ESPN.com eSports editor will oversee the daily production of all eSports content. They work directly with writers (including many of ESPN’s biggest names) and partners to assign and edit content in a fast-paced daily environment. They write headlines and evaluate stories for accuracy, fairness and completeness. Editors must be able to develop unique and compelling content that speaks to a unique audience. They must have an awareness of the operations of every ESPN unit in order to collaborate successfully in developing timely and relevant content. Editors are responsible for making judgments on story play and for participating in discussions on how to package content in the news rails on the website.”

Paul Tassi of Forbes writes about the new role and what it means: “This eSports editor job is suddenly the most prestigious position in the scene, and hell, if I wasn’t so happy writing for Forbes, I’d even consider applying. It’s that amazing of an opportunity. If ESPN really takes this idea and runs with it, they could have unparalleled, must-read eSports coverage up and running by Christmas.”

Tassi continues: “ESPN is going to have to tread carefully with all this. They’ve shown a great deal of insensitivity to eSports fans in the past, and many aren’t likely to forget that soon. I really don’t believe their eSports coverage needs to be integrated into their general sports coverage. That isn’t the answer here. Rather, ESPN can keep all their coverage separate if need be, and that might even be beneficial. They don’t even have to air eSports on TV for all I care, as anyone who has ever watched an eSports event knows that the flexibility of streaming is a much, much better way to watch.”