ESL Expands Partnership with Facebook Gaming in 2019
ESL has announced today that it has expanded its partnership with Facebook Gaming for 2019. This non-exclusive agreement allows ESL to stream its competitions on other platforms like Twitch and YouTube, in addition to Facebook. This includes top tournament series such as Intel Extreme Masters (IEM), ESL One, and the ESL Pro League.
Last year, Facebook had exclusive streaming rights to ESL One and the EPL English broadcasts, which led to backlash from the CS:GO community. Many fans were frustrated with the technical issues on the Facebook Gaming platform at the start of the 2018 deal. Viewership numbers on the English Facebook stream were significantly lower compared to the Russian Facebook stream.
In an interview with HLTV, ESL senior VP of product Ulrich Schulze acknowledged the disappointment from fans. He stated that while Facebook has potential due to its large user base, it did not meet their expectations. As a response to fan feedback, ESL has decided to allow their content to be broadcasted on multiple platforms in 2019.
The global director of games partnerships at Facebook, in ESL’s press release, expressed their commitment to provide ESL fans with the ability to watch esports on multiple platforms. They emphasized their dedication to listening to feedback from gamers and building the world’s gaming community.
This expansion of the partnership means that Counter-Strike fans will no longer have to rely on HLTV’s embedded Facebook stream to watch ESL One and EPL events.
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