Overwatch makes a big announcement on Esports

Disney and Blizzard have announced a huge deal for the Overwatch League broadcast. As part of an agreement announced today, the Overwatch League playoffs will air on Disney's network of channels, including ESPN, Disney XD and ABC. It began on July 11 with playoff rounds and continues with the Barclays Center Grand Final in New York on July 27-28. The competition will air on ESPN and Disney XD, as well as on mobile platforms in the form of the ESPN app and Disney Now.

On July 29, after the end of the contest, a "recap show" will be broadcast on ABC during prime time. , which represents the first time that the championship of a tournament of esports will be shown in prime time on ABC.

Disney and ESPN Executive Justin Connolly said that the Big Final of Overwatch League represents the "most comprehensive television distribution" network for a tournament of esports. a single weekend. There will be 10 hours of competition broadcast over 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 brand coverage across our television platforms for fans," said Connolly. will win the inaugural trophy of the Overwatch League and the essential of a $ 1.4 million prize pool.

The kickoff will take place on Friday, July 27 at 7 pm ET with ESPN's top five games. The competition will continue the next day on ESPN, starting at 4:30 pm ET, while additional games will be broadcast on Disney XD. The games will also be broadcast on Twitch, MLG.com, ESPN and ABC. Here is the complete schedule of the programming:

This agreement between Disney and Activision does not cancel the existing partnership between Twitch and Activision. According to Sports Business Daily, Twitch paid Activision $ 90 million to broadcast games from the Overwatch League. The terms of the new contract with Disney were not available.

The Overwatch League began in January. There are 12 teams in the league, and in a first for an esports organization, they are based in cities like traditional sports leagues. You can learn more about the Overwatch League playoffs here on the Overwatch website.