The inaugural Overwatch League season kicks off at 4:00 pm PST—timed to reach West Coast students after school, East Coast families after dinner, and Asian viewers in the morning.
This two-year agreement covers every single game of the league’s first two seasons across all regions except China (the streaming partner there has yet to be announced).
Twitch will serve as the exclusive third-party platform for the entire season, including playoffs and championship matches, with broadcasts available in English, Korean, and French.
The two companies are also collaborating on monetization features and rewards that offer fans perks such as in-game items and exclusive content, according to Blizzard. Viewers can also purchase Cheering, Twitch’s virtual currency, along with exclusive Overwatch League Cheermotes.
“Our fans love to engage with content on Twitch, and we wanted to drive significant viewership of the Overwatch League in its inaugural season and beyond,” said Armin Zerza, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment, in a statement.
The Overwatch League represents a major gamble for Blizzard/Activision, which has fully committed to promoting and supporting the league for its newest and fastest-growing title (that growth may stem from the game’s novelty or the explosive expansion of gaming since Overwatch’s 2014 launch—the company’s first entirely new game since the 1990s).
The league’s first season runs from January to June, with playoffs and finals scheduled for July. Below are the teams (and their owners) who reportedly paid $20 million each for participation rights.
Pacific Division
o San Francisco Shock – Team Owner: Andy Miller, Co-Owner of Sacramento Kings and CEO of NRG Esports
o Los Angeles Gladiators – Team Owners: Stan and Josh Kroenke, Owners of LA Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids and Arsenal F.C.
o Los Angeles Valiant – Team Owner: Noah Whinston, CEO of Immortals (which recently received investment from Peter Levin, executive Lionsgate Entertainment)
o Dallas Fuel – Team Owner: Mike Rufail, CEO of Team EnVyUs
o Shanghai Dragons – Team Owner: NetEase, a Chinese internet technology company
o Seoul Dynasty – Team Owner: Kevin Chou, CEO of KSV eSports
Atlantic Division
o Boston Uprising – Team Owner: Robert Kraft, Owner of New England Patriots and New England Revolution
o New York Excelsior – Team Owner: Jeff Wilpon, COO of New York Mets
o Philadelphia Fusion – Team Owner: Dave Scott, President & CEO of Comcast Spectacor (Owner of Philadelphia Flyers and Wells Fargo Center in Philly)
o Houston Outlaws – Team Owner: Hector Rodriguez, CEO of OpTic Gaming (which recently received investment from Texas Rangers co-owner Neil Liebman)
o Florida Mayhem – Team Owner: Ben Spoont, CEO of Misfits Gaming (which recently received investment from Miami Heat)
o London Spitfire – Team Owner: Jack Etienne, CEO of Cloud9
“The Overwatch League is making a major impact on esports by reshaping the industry with city-based teams,” said Kevin Lin, COO of Twitch. “Given Overwatch’s consistent reign as a top viewed game by our community, we look forward to offering their pioneering style of league play to a large and passionate fanbase that will be able to bond over not only their favorite plays, but hometown pride.”
Hometown pride won’t be part of the first season, however, as all matches will take place at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles in Burbank, California. The venue was custom-renovated for Blizzard Entertainment esports events and will host all games while local franchises prepare their own arenas.
Fans can watch the games live by purchasing tickets for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday matches. The full schedule and ticket information can be found on the official website or in the listings below.
Activision’s decision to partner with Twitch makes sense given the platform’s massive reach, but it raises the question of why mlg.tv (which Activision owns) wasn’t used—the exclusive platform for Call of Duty.
Perhaps with Overwatch as the new flagship title, distribution took priority over acquisition.
Regardless of the reasoning, Twitch’s Overwatch deal is another step toward ensuring Activision’s new league launches successfully. Now we’ll see how far it can go.
Featured Image: Chesnot/Getty Images
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