Discover has reached its first esports sponsorship, signing on as a partner of the Penny Arcade Expo East in Boston this weekend in a deal that includes advertising time during Twitch streams from the event. Discover is the presenting sponsor of the expo’s PAX Arena, which is hosting tournaments that include Friday's Discover Card Tekken 7 Showdown. It will also host a meet-and-greet with Team NRG player Nairoby “Nairo” Quezada, in addition to operating fan activity booths. Terms were not disclosed. Twitch Senior Dir/Global Sponsorships Nathan Lindberg sold the deal, which is limited in scope to this weekend.
This marks the third major U.S. credit card brand to enter gaming, following Mastercard’s long-term global deal with Riot Games signed in '18 and Visa’s '17 team deal with SK Gaming. “The esports community continues to grow, which means more and more of our customers, and potential customers, are gathering on platforms like Twitch and at conventions like PAX East,” said Discover Senior VP/Consumer Insights & Brand Ryan Scully. He added that Discover will look at Twitch’s prior presenting sponsorship deals as a benchmark, along with usual metrics around on-site engagement.
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