The top four esports events of '18 -- the League of Legends World Championship Finals, ELEAGUE Major: Boston, The International, and the Overwatch League Finals -- attracted a total of 190.1 million hours watched across Twitch and YouTube Gaming, according to a Newzoo report. Additionally, the League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and Dota 2 events’ combined live viewership represented a 6.9% year-over-year growth (THE ESPORTS OBSERVER, 12/6).
For more coverage of the business of esports, visit our partners, esportsobserver.com.
German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF expanded their existing partnerships with Formula E to "show more live races in season five across their networks." ZDF will provide coverage of the Rome E-Prix while ARD will air both the Monaco E-Prix and the BMW i Berlin E-Prix. The new partnership -- brokered by Eurosport -- will see ARD and ZDF cover "at least two more races live" than in the '17-18 season, "with all remaining races streamed live across online platforms" (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 12/8).
Ziggo Sport renewed its exclusive broadcasting rights for the Premier League for three seasons. The deal includes the rights to live games and summaries on TV and the internet. The matches can be followed via Ziggo Sport, the "free channel for all digital Ziggo subscribers," and the Ziggo Sport Total payment package, which is available via all TV providers in the Netherlands (TELECOMPAPER, 12/7).
