eSports gain in popularity as German broadcasters ramp up coverage
Sport1 in Germany is gearing up to launch a dedicated eSports TV channel. Sport1 began covering eSports with ESL One Frankfurt in 2016. In August 2017, Sport1 broadcast ESL's top Hamburg league for Dota 2 on free television across Germany. The partnership with ESL also included broadcast rights for other ESL events that year. The company has also aired coverage of the European Leaugue of Legends Championship Series and various Counter-Strike events, along with producing its own online content and dedicated esports Twitter feed. Twitter also recently agreed a multiyear deal to bring game highlights of Overwatch to the platform from 2019, via its weekly show “Watchpoint”. Despite most viewership for esports being online, German TV networks are still looking to add eSports to their programming. ProSieben also broadcasts its own eSports content, including a highlight show “Ran eSports.”
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