Esports tournament organiser ESL has expanded its partnership with  German TV broadcaster SPORT1. 

From 3 November, major ESL and DreamHack tournaments will be broadcast on eSportsONE – the dedicated DACH esports channel that was launched in January 2019. 

Specifically, the channel will be an exclusive linear TV partner for all ESL Dota 2 tournaments – including ESL One Birmingham, ESL One Hamburg, and ESL One Los Angeles – plus the StarCraft II and WarCraft III ESL Pro Tour in Germany. NBA 2K and Rocket League will also be covered by the expanded agreement. 

Discussing the news Senior Vice President of Global Media at ESL, Frank Uddo, said:

“Having seen the success of eSPORTS1 in German-speaking countries, we are excited to join forces with long-term partner SPORT1 for the rollout of the linear channel eSportsONE across Europe. ESL aims to serve the esports community all across Europe, and eSportsONE’s comprehensive and versatile portfolio makes it a great option to view premium esports content.”

While CEO of Sport1 Medien AG and Chairman of the Management Board of Sport1 GmbH, Olaf Schröder, added: 

“We are pioneers and trailblazers in the growth market esports with its great opportunities: At the beginning of 2019, we launched the first esports channel in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with eSPORTS1 – an important milestone with which we have further expanded our positioning as a leading medium in the German-speaking esports community.

“Now we continue our esports success story internationally and are launching a new, ground-breaking project with eSportsONE as a pan-European eSports broadcaster. Our goal: We want to make esports even bigger in Europe in the future beyond the young core target group and to anchor it even more sustainably in society.“

Staying with ESL and Germany, earlier this month Bitburger 0.0% was named an official partner of ESL One Germany and all ESL Dota 2 esports in the country. And, at the start of the month, MTG announced DreamHack and ESL had merged under one corporation, ESL Gaming. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Though television may be rapidly losing market share to streaming platforms, it nevertheless remains a significant media format, at least in the short to medium term, so the expansion of this partnership is a pretty big deal, especially as eSportsONE rolls out across new markets. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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