Games

Twitch Spent A lot of Money on Overwatch

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10 January 2018

By Alex Khalil

Twitch recently announced it had secured exclusive broadcasting rights for the Overwatch League. A new report asserts just how much the deal cost.

The streaming service apparently dropped $90 million on getting the broadcast exclusivity. This means that they will be streaming the next two seasons of Overwatch League games. The number comes from Sports Business Daily which also reported that this makes the deal the biggest in esports history.

The League skins look pretty good, I must admit.

Twitch becomes the exclusive platform to watch the matches with the deal, with half of the season also airing on MLG.tv. MLG.tv is Activision Blizzard’s first-party streaming service.

The report also states that the $90 million settlement could go beyond streaming rights. Twitch also announced it would work with the game developer to develop rewards and programs for fans.

Overwatch is Blizzard’s best selling game, with 30 million copies sold and around 3-6 million players every day.

Overwatch League is one of the most formalized esports leagues in existence currently. It features teams of players based on cities rather than organisations, with some teams having connections to existing professional clubs.

To celebrate the launch of the deal, Overwatch is adding esports focused skins.

It’s a good thing that the behind the scenes is organised. Because I don’t have a clue as to what’s going on when watching it.

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