Regional broadcasting rights for ESL Pro Tour tournaments in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive acquired by Polsat Games
ESL, DreamHack and Polsat Games to enter into one year agreement to broadcast up to 2,000 hours of CS:GO content in 2020, starting with IEM Katowice
DreamHack, the premier gaming lifestyle festival, and ESL, the world’s largest esports company, have announced that Polsat Games has acquired the broadcasting rights for the ESL Pro Tour, the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s (CS:GO) pro circuit, linking more than 20 tournaments and leagues.
The ESL Pro Tour features an aggregate prize pool of more than $5 million (USD) for 2020 from competitions across five continents — making it one of the largest and most lucrative competition circuits in Counter-Strike’s 20-year history. Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM), which was held between February 24th - March 3rd, marked the start of the media rights partnership. Polsat Games, a Polish broadcaster with broad programming across gaming and esports, reported 100% growth in viewership figures in comparison to the same time frame in 2019.
As part of the partnership, Polsat Games will broadcast up to 2,000 hours of CS:GO competitions in 2020, featuring commentary from the best Polish experts and analysts. The majority of the broadcasts will be hosted directly from the studio in the Polsat Games’ Warsaw.
Globally, the ongoing broadcast of the current ESL Pro League Season 11, as part of ESL Pro Tour, just reached an all-time record peak CCU (excl. China) with over 355k, a +66% increase, as well as an all-time ENG record peak CCU of over 190k (+44%).
“Counter-Strike has always been a strong product in Poland due to the IEM Katowice tournament and an overall strong player and viewer base. We are therefore super happy that Polsat, as the number one private broadcasting platform in Poland, has decided to put a greater focus on esports by hosting our CS:GO competitions on Polsat Games. We can’t wait for the Polsat team to start bringing best-in-class and entertaining CS:GO action directly into esports fans’ homes!” said Torsten Haux, Vice President Global Media Rights at ESL.
“Extending Polsat Games’ offer to broadcast the prestigious ESL Pro Tour tournaments in CS:GO is a very important step in the development of linear television. We are aware of the value CS:GO brings to Polsat Games and to esports fans, offering them great matches of Polish athletes competing on big international stages. We are extremely proud to have kicked-off our adventure together with ESL at this years’ IEM Katowice, one of the most important CS:GO tournaments which is watched by millions of fans around the world every year”, said Ewa Czekała, Program Manager of Polsat Games.
Broadcasting rights for Polsat in 2020 cover the whole range of ESL and DreamHack Pro Tour tournaments in CS:GO, including all events from National Championships, international Challenger events, such as DreamHack Open up to Masters like ESL ProLeague, ESL One, IEM and DreamHack Masters leading the road to the Masters Championships in Cologne and Katowice. Next, Polsat will be broadcasting all tournaments of ESL ProLeague Season 11 as well as all following ESL Pro Tour competitions.
For more information about the ESL Pro Tour, please visit eslprotour.com.
ESL media contact:
pr@eslgaming.com
About Polsat Games
Polsat Games is a TV channel created and run by players for players, esports fans and enthusiasts of new technologies and anime. The flagship project of Polsat Games is Ultraliga, the official Polish League of Legends tournament, executed in one of the most innovative esports TV studios in Poland. The struggles of electronic athletes are commented on live in the studio by the best casters of League of Legends in Poland. Ultraliga winners have guaranteed promotion to the EU Masters competition. Polsat Games is available at Cyfrowy Polsat, and selected TV shows are also available to watch via Twitch and YouTube.
About ESL
ESL is the world’s largest esports company. Founded in 2000, ESL has been shaping the industry across the most popular video games with numerous online and offline esports competitions. The company operates high profile, branded international leagues and tournaments under the ESL Pro Tour including ESL One, Intel® Extreme Masters, ESL Pro League, and other premier stadium-size tournaments, to more clearly define the path from zero to hero. ESL also produces the ESL National Championships, grassroots amateur cups, and matchmaking systems, creating a world where everybody can be somebody. With offices all over the world, ESL is leading esports innovation on a global scale through the combination of global ESL competitions, amateur leagues, publisher activations, and more. ESL is a part of MTG, the leading international digital entertainment group. about.eslgaming.com
ESL Pro Tour
The ESL Pro Tour combines multiple, previously unconnected ESL and DreamHack tournaments from various game titles into dedicated circuits that build toward grand championships each year. The collaboration aims to create a more complete path from “zero to hero” for aspiring players, a more compelling story to follow for existing CS:GO, StarCraft II and WarCraft III fans, and a more transparent structure for new esports fans.
Intel® Extreme Masters
Intel® Extreme Masters is the longest-running global professional esports tournament circuit in the world. Started in 2006 by Intel and ESL, the competition has now traveled to over 30 cities around the globe and conducted tournaments for 11 different competitive gaming titles. Esports fans from more than 180 countries regularly make IEM events record-breakers in terms of stadium attendance and viewership, with the tournament’s inaugural event in Australia in May 2017 marking the fifth continent for the global competitive circuit. Throughout more than 75 IEM events, over US $11 million in prize money has been awarded to some of the world’s top esports talent (www.intelextrememasters.com).
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