Disney Acquires Overwatch League Broadcast Rights

By: Bryce L. Jackson

Disney has acquired the broadcast rights to the Overwatch League in a multiyear deal starting tonight with the Overwatch League playoffs. The deal will cover the Overwatch League Playoffs, the Overwatch World Cup, and Overwatch League Season 2. The games will be broadcast across multiple Disney networks including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Disney XD, and  ESPN streaming services. The deal will not cancel the current broadcast rights with Twitch, who has another year remaining on their current contract.

““We are turning the corner here in terms of our interest and engagement in the esports category,” ESPN Vice President of Digital Media Programming John Lasker said. “We’ve had an interest and have been watching pretty closely how the first year of the Overwatch League has been progressing, and we’re really excited to be a part of this. Clearly by the way we’re going to be covering it starting with the playoffs and the finals this year certainly speaks volumes to our excitement and our enthusiasm overall for esports moving forward.””

The deal will also include additional content for the network like recap shows and content made to introduce new viewers to the game and its intricacies.

Broadcast Schedule for the Overwatch League Playoffs

via ESPN