For anyone who knows the history of Fox Sports — in particular, its NFL relationship — NY Digital Editor Todd Spangler reports Variety’s exclusive news is big: Fox TV veteran David Hill is joining ESL to “Make eSports More Like Television”

Variety reports: “Hill will work exclusively with ESL on special projects with select game publishers and sponsors to develop premium eSports events… Hill’s first orders of business will be training ESL production teams on TV best practices and recruiting and grooming star-caliber eSports announcers.”

The piece continues: “Hill says he’s a longtime fan of video games, noting that at Fox Sports he encouraged staffers had to play games for at least half an hour every day. ‘I’ve always looked to the gaming industry for inspiration for sports programming, especially in the areas of graphics, audio and design,’ he said.”

“ESL will employ Hill for its larger-budget eSports tourneys, which are akin to other sports league’s playoffs. The company also is considering launching a pay-per-view model for its biggest events, though those details still need to be worked out, Hill said.”