Overwatch League™ Opening Week Draws More Than 10 Million Viewers
January 17 2018 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Newly announced Twitch distribution deal drives
an average audience per minute of 408,000 for the opening day
broadcast
The Overwatch League roared to life last week at the Blizzard
Arena Los Angeles, with four days of intense competition between
all 12 teams of the world’s first major global city-based
professional esports league.
Buoyed by a newly announced two-year deal with Twitch, the
Overwatch League’s exclusive worldwide[1] third-party digital
broadcast partner, opening day drew an impressive average audience
per minute of 408,000, and 280,000 for the week. More than 10
million viewers tuned in over the four-day period via Twitch, MLG,
and Chinese streaming partners ZhanQi TV, NetEase CC, and Panda
TV—not to mention the countless additional viewers at watch parties
worldwide. On Twitch and MLG alone, the peak concurrent online
audience of 437,000 hit during the highly anticipated day-one
matchup between Dallas Fuel and Seoul Dynasty. In addition, tickets
to Blizzard Arena Los Angeles were sold out for the entirety of
opening week.
“We’re thrilled by the overwhelming response to the Overwatch
League’s opening week of play,” said Pete Vlastelica, president and
CEO of Major League Gaming (MLG). “But this is only the beginning.
With more than 35 million Overwatch® players, the Overwatch League
has the potential to become one of the most-watched leagues—of any
kind—in the world.”
“Since we announced Overwatch League at BlizzCon 2016, we’ve
been eagerly awaiting the day when the global competitive Overwatch
community could come together under one banner,” said Nate Nanzer,
Overwatch League commissioner. “Opening week was that coming-out
party—for the fans, both in-person at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles
and tuned in by the millions all over the world, and for the
players, whose love for the game came through crystal clear.”
“We had high expectations for the inaugural broadcast of the
Overwatch League on Twitch, given our platform’s passionate fanbase
for Overwatch," said Kevin Lin, COO of Twitch. "They really put on
an amazing show and fans showed up en masse to support and
celebrate Overwatch. Based on the response from the community,
Overwatch League is off to a great start and we look forward to
watching how the season progresses. This league demonstrates the
power and potential of esports, and we’re thrilled to continue
expanding our partnership with Blizzard.”
Viewers can tune in to catch all the action on Twitch,
www.mlg.com, the MLG app (on iOS and Android),
www.overwatchleague.com, and the Overwatch League app, which
launched last week for iOS and Android. Blizzard gamers also can
get easy access to the Overwatch League via a new Overwatch League
tab in the Blizzard Battle.net desktop app.
The first season of the Overwatch League runs until June, with
playoffs and finals scheduled for July. For the inaugural season,
all regular-season games will take place at Blizzard Arena Los
Angeles, a state-of-the-art live-event venue in Burbank,
California, custom-renovated for Blizzard Entertainment esports
events. Fans can purchase tickets to attend matches, which will be
played each Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. A
full schedule and information about ticket sales can
be found at www.overwatchleague.com.
About the Overwatch League™
The Overwatch League™ is the first major global professional
esports league with city-based teams across Asia, Europe, and North
America. Overwatch® was created by globally acclaimed publisher
Blizzard Entertainment (a division of Activision Blizzard—Nasdaq:
ATVI), whose iconic franchises have helped lay the foundations and
push the boundaries of professional esports over the last 15 years.
The latest addition to Blizzard’s stable of twenty-one #1 games,[2]
Overwatch was built from the ground up for online competition, with
memorable characters and fast-paced action designed for the most
engaging gameplay and spectator experiences. To learn more about
the Overwatch League, visit www.overwatchleague.com.
© 2018 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. OVERWATCH, OVERWATCH LEAGUE,
BLIZZARD and BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT are trademarks of Blizzard
Entertainment, Inc. MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING is a trademark of Major
League Gaming Corp.
[1] Not including China.[2] Sales and/or downloads, based on
internal company records and reports from key distribution
partners
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking
Statements: Information in this press release that involves
Blizzard Entertainment's expectations, plans, intentions or
strategies regarding the future, including statements about the
dates, events and features of the Overwatch League, are
forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number
of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard
Entertainment's actual future results to differ materially from
those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this
release include unanticipated product delays and other factors
identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s
most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this
release are based upon information available to Blizzard
Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this
release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard
assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when
made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not
guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or
Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and
other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause
actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180117005551/en/
Overwatch LeagueMark Van Lommel, 949-955-1380
x61147MVanLommel@overwatchleague.com
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