The ESL and Facebook are expanding the scope of their streaming partnership to include all events in an enhanced video feed, but after some viewer complaints last year, the social media giant will no longer carry ESL tournaments exclusively.
Facebook has created a central hub for all its gaming content at fb.gg and will host all of the flagship events produced by global esports organizer ESL: Intel Extreme Masters, ESL One (Dota 2), and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Pro League. Highlights and all other league content will be available at fb.gg/esl.
Facebook and the ESL first teamed up in 2017 to offer 1,500 hours of exclusive coverage. In a statement, Facebook’s global director for games partnerships, Leo Olebe, acknowledged that esports fans want choice of platform, which prompted the non-exclusive terms of this deal.
“Expanding ESL content to include all global esports competitions is a way for us to satisfy the growing appetite for watching gaming video content on Facebook,” Olebe said. “Providing ESL fans a way to watch esports on multiple platforms is something we know the community cares about, and that’s a big reason why all 2019 content will broadcast anywhere ESL chooses to stream. We’ll continue to listen and act on feedback from gamers as we work together in building the world’s gaming community.”
Olebe described Facebook viewership of esports as having “grown substantially” since January 2018 and added the new video format will reduce lag and stall rates. The ESL announcement promised 1080p/60fps picture quality. All events will be streamed in English, and the Pro League will also be available in Portuguese.
“ESL brings together a global community of esports fans and aims to deliver amazing esports experiences to audiences around the world, both online and through large scale events,” said Ralf Reichert, ESL co-CEO, in a news release. “ESL will be providing multiple sources in which fans can experience our flagship circuits online—including a return to Facebook Gaming to continue bringing content to its rapidly growing audience.”
SportTechie Takeaway
A recurring theme from everyone producing live sports and esports content is the increasing need to meet fans where they want to be. The growth of new media platforms has empowered viewers with choice, and ESL fans who prefer Twitch or YouTube can now opt to do so. That is especially important because, as Dot Esports recounted, technical issues impacted the quality of Facebook’s feed in 2018. Luckbox has already hailed the new partnership as a “huge improvement” and the “best of both worlds.”