ProSiebenSat.1 acquires German-speaking broadcast rights for ESL events

Event organiser ESL has extended its partnership with ProSiebenSat.1 for three years, lasting through 2022.

ProSiebenSat.1’s 7Sports subsidiary has acquired the German-speaking broadcast rights to ESL Pro Tour, IEM Katowice, and ESL One Cologne, among other events.

RELATED: Maincast acquires ESL Pro Tour broadcast rights in three-year deal

As part of the deal, ProSiebenSat.1 will broadcast the aforementioned events and circuit on ProSieben Maxx, ProSieben Fun, and eSports.com. The latter of which is focused on the German market, though a global expansion is expected to occur throughout 2020.

Stefan Zant, Managing Director of 7Sports, commented on the deal in a release: “We have the necessary reach to make eSports great, the ESL provides great content with its large, highly professional events. A win-win situation for everyone.”

RELATED: TV 2 Denmark acquires Danish broadcast rights for ESL Pro Tour

In recent months, ESL has established broadcast right deals with TV 2 Denmark for the Danish market, Maincast for Russia and the CIS region, and Blake Broadcasting for United States, Canada, and Asia, excluding China.

Torsten Haux, Vice President Global Media Rights at ESL, also spoke on the partnership: “We are very pleased that the long-term partnership with 7Sports is entering a new round. This cooperation clearly shows one thing above all: esports has proven its potential to bind young audiences to traditional media houses and their platforms and to inspire them for it.”

Esports Insider says: ESL has done a good job in selling broadcast rights for its most popular properties and events in regions in which they’re particularly loved. We anticipate more of these deals to come to fruition before long, including a deal that covers Brazil and surrounding countries.

ESI New York 2020 – Find out more