OGN (formerly known as Ongamenet) is a South Korean pay television channel that specialized in broadcasting video game-related content and esports matches, particularly StarCraft, Starcraft II, League of Legends, and Overwatch. OGN ran high level professional tournaments for 20 years; its premier competition included the Ongamenet Starleague (OSL), Proleague, League of Legends Champions Korea, and Overwatch APEX. It was previously a subsidiary of On-Media, the parent company of several other cable channels. After a corporate merger in 2010, it became a part of CJ ENM E&M Division. Most recently, League of Legends statistics website, OP.GG, which also sponsored LCK since 2022, has acquired OGN from CJ ENM following the shutdown of the linear TV network during the COVID-19 pandemic. Effects on Esports Originally starting out as a television program to follow the raising popularity of StarCraft in Korea, the successful growth of broadcast-gaming in Korea allowed the Starleague in 2000 to become its own dedicated channel on OnGameNet. Starting out with a small prize sum and very few followers, Starleague grew tremendously in its twelve-year history. It catapulted electronic gaming into a major competitive sport in Korea, with more viewers than some other professional sports. These Starleague events regularly attracted upwards of 50,000 fans. With the growth of esports, international teams began to come to Korea in order to participate in these events and have a chance at achieving stardom while also landing a professional contract with major teams such as SK Telecom T1 and KT Rolster. South Korea was the first country to fully popularize esports and bring it into the mainstream culture. Tournaments Ongamenet Starleague The Ongamenet Starleague (OSL) was a semi annual StarCraft tournament broadcast by OnGameNet. The Starleague dated back to 1999, but it was not until 2001 that the tournaments became a professional setting. Being the oldest professional StarCraft tournament in Korea, the Starleague was considered by many to be the most prestigious StarCraft tournament in the world. During the first OSL Guillaume "Grrrr..." Patry would be the first and only non-Korean to win an individual Starleague since its inception. There had been a total of 34 OSLs for StarCraft: Brood War dating from October 1999 to August 2012. As of June 2012, the StarLeague has officially transitioned to Blizzard's newest title Starcraft II. Proleague The Proleague was a Premier Brood War Team League and was formerly hosted on OGN and MBCGame. It was then