ABC, Disney, ESPN sign an agreement to broadcast the Overwatch League

Activision Blizzard announced last week that it has agreed on a multi-year broadcast rights agreement with Disney to televise Overwatch League through ESPN, ESPN 2, Disney XD, ABC, and all related

The Overwatch League (OWL) playoffs are currently underway and the deal includes rights this year's Grand Finals, which will be held in New York on July 27-28. All of the Overwatch League's esport competitions will be broadcast exclusively on Disney-controlled networks, but fans will continue to watch the Overwatch League on Twitch. The live broadcast platform established a two-year, $ 90 million agreement with OWL in January 1999.

"Media partners are another very important partner in the ecosystem," he said. Pete Vlastelica, President and CEO of Activision Blizzard. in a statement on the ESPN website. "ESPN is investing in the growth of the NBA and now we are hoping that they are investing in the growth of our league."

The exact terms of the agreement between Activision Blizzard and Disney no. have not been disclosed, but this is another indication of the rapid expansion of esports in the United States – the OWL is still in its inaugural season.The OWL will become the first competitive gaming tournament to be broadcast in live on ESPN in prime time, and will also become the first championship of esports to be broadcast on ABC

"We turn the corner in terms of interest and commitment in esports. category, "added ESPN's vice president of multimedia programming, John Lasker. "We had an interest and looked closely at how the first year of the Overwatch League has progressed, and we are really excited to be part of that."

SportTechie Takeaway

Overwatch is a first-person multiplayer team shooter, launched by Blizzard Entertainment in May 2016. In total 12 teams compete in the OWL with a prize pool of 3 , $ 5 million available in its first season.

The Overwatch League stated Its desire to follow the pattern of organizing North American traditional sports professionals and establish broadcast rights agreements as a source of revenue is clearly an important step toward consolidation of the place of the esports in the modern landscape of sports and entertainments.

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