At the 11th hour, video game streaming service Twitch finally formalized a deal with the Overwatch League to broadcast matches exclusively on its platform for the next two seasons. The deal reportedly cost $90 million as per Sports Business Daily, which also said this makes it perhaps the biggest deal in esports history.
Though half of the season airing on MLG.tv, which is owned by Activision Blizzard, Twitch is now the only third party platform for watching the matches. The first match taking place will be the San Francisco Shock versus Los Angeles Valiant at 4 PM PST on January 10th.
It should be noted that the $90 million deal could be for more than just broadcast rights. With Twitch announcing a partnership with Activision to offer rewards to fans and viewers, there could be other aspects that haven’t been revealed.
Overwatch League is perhaps one of the biggest esports pushes for a new IP in recent memory and will see 12 teams battling it out over several days for supremacy. You can watch it on MLG.tv, Overwatch League’s official website or on Twitch.