CS:GO first for Sky in stream of eSports' FACEIT Major
eSports -
14 Sep 2018
Sky Sports, the UK pay-TV broadcaster, is to stream coverage of the FACEIT Major, a leading eSports tournament to be held this month in London.
The finals held between 20 and 23 September will be shown by Sky on its website and YouTube and Facebook channels and the broadcaster will also air an exclusive documentary about the tournament and show highlights on Sky Two, its entertainment channel.
Georgie Faulkner, Sky Sports’ head of multi sports, said: “FACEIT Major is one of the world’s biggest eSports events, and we’re delighted to be able to bring the London finals to a whole new audience. We’re no stranger to world of eSports, but this is the first time we have broadcast competitive CS:GO [Counter-Strike: Global Offensive] and we can’t wait to get started. With a sold-out SEE Wembley Arena, and some of the biggest names in the game, we’re sure our viewers will love it.”
The deal marks the first time that Sky will broadcast competitive CS:GO action.
Sky said: “The partnership comes after the Minors and Challengers stages of the tournament, which both saw unprecedented viewing figures on Twitch and YouTube. The Europe Minors alone saw 4.3m hours watched, peak 147,000 concurrent views and 82,000 average viewers, excluding Chinese viewership.”
The FACEIT Major will offer a total prize fund of $1 million, including a winner’s cheque for $500,000.
In 2016, Sky and ITV, the UK free-to-air commercial broadcaster, invested £1.5 million ($2 million) each into Ginx TV, the UK-based 24-hour video-gaming television channel.
Elsewhere, Team Vitality, the France-based eSports organisation, has struck a sponsorship deal with Orange, the telecoms group.
Details of the agreement have not been announced, but the Orange branding was seen on the front of the Team Vitality shirts in the launch video.
Earlier this year, Team Vitality appointed the Infront agency to market its sponsorship packages.
Sportcal
The finals held between 20 and 23 September will be shown by Sky on its website and YouTube and Facebook channels and the broadcaster will also air an exclusive documentary about the tournament and show highlights on Sky Two, its entertainment channel.
Georgie Faulkner, Sky Sports’ head of multi sports, said: “FACEIT Major is one of the world’s biggest eSports events, and we’re delighted to be able to bring the London finals to a whole new audience. We’re no stranger to world of eSports, but this is the first time we have broadcast competitive CS:GO [Counter-Strike: Global Offensive] and we can’t wait to get started. With a sold-out SEE Wembley Arena, and some of the biggest names in the game, we’re sure our viewers will love it.”
The deal marks the first time that Sky will broadcast competitive CS:GO action.
Sky said: “The partnership comes after the Minors and Challengers stages of the tournament, which both saw unprecedented viewing figures on Twitch and YouTube. The Europe Minors alone saw 4.3m hours watched, peak 147,000 concurrent views and 82,000 average viewers, excluding Chinese viewership.”
The FACEIT Major will offer a total prize fund of $1 million, including a winner’s cheque for $500,000.
In 2016, Sky and ITV, the UK free-to-air commercial broadcaster, invested £1.5 million ($2 million) each into Ginx TV, the UK-based 24-hour video-gaming television channel.
Elsewhere, Team Vitality, the France-based eSports organisation, has struck a sponsorship deal with Orange, the telecoms group.
Details of the agreement have not been announced, but the Orange branding was seen on the front of the Team Vitality shirts in the launch video.
Earlier this year, Team Vitality appointed the Infront agency to market its sponsorship packages.
Sportcal
