Overwatch League reaches a stage agreement with Disney and ESPN – TechCrunch



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If you are tired of hearing about spies, you must recover. The space continues to grow, making its way into the traditional media landscape. Today, Activision Blizzard announced that the Overwatch League playoffs will be broadcast on ESPN and Disney XD.

The Overwatch League itself is a big step for the esports because it's the first real league a competitive video game. While most of the leagues are made up of private teams with little or nothing to do with geography, Overwatch League is a professional league made up of city-based teams like the Dallas Fuel or the San Francisco Shock. Many of these teams are owned by big names in the traditional sports world, such as Robert Kraft (CEO and owner of New England Patriots, owner of the Boston Uprising) and Jeff Wilpon (COO of the New York Mets, owner of New York). Excelsior)

The agreement, which also includes a recap / highlights package of 2018 Grand Finals on ABC on July 29, marks the first time that competitive live games have been broadcast on ESPN in prime time, and will be the first broadcast of a championship esports on ABC. Activision Blizzard said in the announcement that it is only the beginning of a multi-year agreement

That said, Madden NFL 18 from EA broadcast a tournament of esports on ESPN2 and Disney XD earlier this year.

Overwatch League Playoffs Tonight at 8 pm ET, the grand finale will be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on July 27th and July 28th.

Here's what Justin Connolly, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing Affiliate at Disney and ESPN, was to say in a prepared statement:

The Grand Final Overwatch League is by far our distribution the most complete television for an event esports on a single weekend: 10 hours in total on four networks and three days. This global collaboration with Disney / ABC, ESPN and Blizzard represents our ongoing commitment to the esports, and we look forward to providing Overwatch League coverage on our television platforms for fans.

The rise of Twitch stars, like Ninja, and the growth of the competitive gaming scene paved the way not only for a new type of sports media, but for a growing new economy. Although content monetization remains a challenge, the pieces of the puzzle are getting closer to creating an audience large enough to entice advertisers to spend a lot of money.

In fact, sponsorship and advertising revenues are expected to reach $ 655 million. $ 224 million, respectively, by 2020, according to Newzoo. That does not seem like much when you think of the NFL, which raised $ 1.3 billion in revenue in 2017 alone. But, as this agreement shows, the space of the esports grows and makes its way into the mainstream, hoping to attract the attention of young men between 18 and 34 who have become increasingly difficult to reach via traditional advertising. Overwatch League playoff broadcast on ESPN and Disney XD, the playoffs will also be broadcast live via Twitch, MLG.com and on the ESPN and DisneyNOW app.

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