Activision Blizzard has expanded its distribution rights with German television broadcaster SPORT1.
The multi-year agreement renews the broadcaster’s TV-exclusive rights to the Overwatch League across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
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Additionally, the broadcaster also acquired rights to air the Hearthstone Masters Tour Grandmasters, World of Warcraft Arena World Championship and Mythic Dungeon International live on its eSPORTS1 and eSportsONE channels.
Brandon Snow, Chief Revenue Officer – Leagues at Activision Blizzard, spoke on the announcement in a release: “SPORT1 has been key in introducing new fans to Overwatch League and Hearthstone throughout Europe and the German-speaking region. We are thrilled to continue bringing these epic competitions to all of our fans in the region while expanding this deal with World of Warcraft’s premier programs.“
The announcement follows on from the conclusion of its initial two-year deal signed alongside the launch of SPORTS1’s esports channel in German-speaking regions in 2019.
By the end of 2020, Sports1 launched its second, pan-European esports channel eSportsONE, which is currently distributed in Belgium, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Norway and Sweden.
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Daniel von Busse, COO TV and Member of the Management of Sport1 GmbH, commented: “By extending our partnership with Activision Blizzard to the pan-European region, we gain another central content partner for our first international channel project.
“The extension of our cooperation with one of the most important global players strengthens the portfolio of our two pay channels for the coming years and, together with our other partners, forms a strong basis for further growth in the esports area.“
Sport1 GmbH other esports content partners include the likes of ESL, NBA 2K League, and Psyonix.
Esports Insider says: The expansion of the partnership indicates that both parties are happy with their past collaborative work and are willing to continue working together in pursuit of highlighting esports to a mainstream audiences.
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