Esl And Twitch Sign Multi-year Streaming Deal

28 Apr 2020 | tshego

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Esports company ESL and gaming lifestyle festival DreamHack have announced a three-year deal with online streaming platform Twitch.

The agreement will see some of the biggest esports tournaments organized by ESL and DreamHack streamed exclusively live on the platform in 2021 and 2022, with the exception of those territories where broadcast deals are already in place.

The deal announcement confirms Twitch as the global digital media partner of major ESL and DreamHack competitions on a non-exclusive basis in 2020, before acquiring exclusivity of English language digital live streaming of major events in 2021 and 2022.

“ESL and Twitch have been key players in the history of esports as we know it,” said Benjamin Vallat, SVP of Alliances and Corporate Development, Twitch. “The continuation of our partnership will strengthen not only the content offerings for fans, but also the greater esports community that ESL, Dreamhack, and Twitch have cultivated over the years.”

As part of the partnership, Twitch will become a hub for streaming ESL and DreamHack competitions and will work with the esports pair to coordinate broadcast integrations and maximise sponsorships of tournaments. The deal will see tournaments such as the ESL Pro Tour for CS:GO, StarCraft II and Warcraft III streamed on the platform, as well as the Intel Extreme Masters, DreamHack Masters and ESL National Championships.

Frank Uddo, Senior Vice President, Global Media at ESL, said, “Live-streaming esports has belonged to Twitch in recent years. As we continue to host some of the world’s largest esports tournaments, it feels only natural to work even closer with Twitch to provide the best gaming experience for fans, as well as safeguard the future of the esports industry.”

DreamHack Co-CEO Roger Lodewick added: “This partnership is a milestone for DreamHack, both as a company and community. Our cooperation with Twitch dates back to 2009 when it was still Justin.tv — this new collective media partnership is re-confirming our long-standing collaboration and highlights the importance and relevance Twitch has to our community, as well as the value the ESL/DreamHack esports content brings to the global Twitch audience.”