Activision Blizzard Esports has been in talks about getting Overwatch League back on linear TV, receiving fresh outreach from media networks amid the coronavirus shutdown, sources say. Activision's esports series has an exclusive, three-year, $160M digital streaming rights deal with YouTube, but OWL’s linear TV deal with ABC/ESPN ended after last season. No OWL matches have aired on TV in the U.S. so far this year on any channel. However, Activision has continued talking to networks in hopes of finding a deal, and the sports shutdown could hasten OWL’s return to TV. Sources said that NBC Sports Group was in talks in recent months over a deal that would have put OWL matches on some NBC-owned RSNs. OWL has based its teams in cities around the world and was holding home/away matches; the NBC deal could have been a boon for getting local media coverage. However, a deal has yet to be announced, and it was not clear if NBC is still negotiating. ESPN in late February confirmed to THE DAILY that its OWL deal had concluded. However, ESPN could return to the table given its current lack of live programming. While the rights fee that ESPN paid to OWL previously is unclear, OWL’s viewership is heavily tilted toward the digital side, so linear rights would likely be significantly cheaper than the digital rights. Meanwhile, the league this week announced that the rest of the regular season will be played through online-only matches because of the virus. Activision and NBC declined comment.
