Event organizer and production company ESL and Facebook Gaming have expanded their partnership to cover ESL’s competitions on a non-exclusive basis.
ESL’s flagship circuit events, Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) and ESL One, and the ESL Pro League will be broadcast on Facebook, among other streaming platforms.
Ralf Reichert, Co-CEO of ESL discussed the expansion: “ESL brings together a global community of esports fans and aims to deliver amazing esports experiences to audiences around the world, both online and through large scale events. ESL will be providing multiple sources in which fans can experience our flagship circuits online — including a return to Facebook Gaming to continue bringing content to its rapidly growing audience.”
In January last year, WESA and ESL entered a partnership with Facebook that saw the social platform receive the exclusive broadcast rights to ESL One competitions and the ESL Pro League.
Leo Olebe, Global Director of Games Partnerships at Facebook also commented on the deal: “Expanding ESL content to include all global esports competitions is a way for us to satisfy the growing appetite for watching gaming video content on Facebook. Providing ESL fans a way to watch esports on multiple platforms is something we know the community cares about, and that’s a big reason why all 2019 content will broadcast anywhere ESL chooses to stream. We’ll continue to listen and act on feedback from gamers as we work together in building the world’s gaming community.”
Esports Insider says: This expanded deal will likely please a much wider audience of esports fans – some weren’t overly keen on the Facebook exclusivity and for those who were, they can still use the social platform to tune in should they wish to do so. This seems like a win-win for all involved.
[maxbutton id=”5″ ]
