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Overwatch League Partners With Twitch In Two-Year Broadcast Deal

Twitch fans now have a guaranteed way to watch the first two Overwatch League seasons.

Kevin Tucker

January 9, 2018 1:00 PM

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In massive news for the esports industry, popular online streaming service Twitch has partnered with the Overwatch League in order to provide a steady outlet to broadcast the league's first two seasons to internet users and esports fans across the globe. The new partnership is a two-year deal that sees Twitch becoming the nearly-exclusive worldwide provider for the Overwatch League, including all regular season matches, playoffs, and championship matches.

Speaking in a press release, Blizzard COO Armin Zera said that the new partnership is a way for fans to stay connected with the Overwatch League brand over the coming years.

"Our fans love to engage with content on Twitch, and we wanted to drive significant viewership of the Overwatch League in its inaugural season and beyond," Zerza said. "That's why this historic and ground-breaking partnership is perfectly suited for Activision Blizzard, for Twitch, and—most importantly—for our growing global fanbase."

Aside from China, the new agreement provides worldwide coverage of all of the first two seasons of Overwatch League. All games in the first season will be held at the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles, with broadcast languages in English, French, and Korean. Players will also be able to watch league play on other sponsored networks, including the MLG website and app as well as the new Overwatch League app. 

Overwatch League's First Season Is About To Go Live

The inaugural season of the Overwatch League is set to kick off soon — the first match is set to go live on Twitch tomorrow, January 10, with the rest of the season running through June. Fans can find a link to the English-language Overwatch League Twitch stream right here. Players tuning in to Twitch during live matches will also be eligible to receive various in-game items as rewards, and though we don't know what the awards might include, the Overwatch League team plans to release more information about different rewards soon.

Players who might be away from their computer will be happy to learn that they'll still be able to watch in-progress matches by loading up the Twitch mobile app. Before loading it up, though, we recommend checking up on all of the various teams and players by heading over to our complete guide to the 12 Overwatch League teams.

It's worth remembering that Overwatch fans also have a brand new way to stay connected to their favorite teams and players on-the-go, as Blizzard just yesterday released the Overwatch League app for both iOS and Android-powered smartphones. The app includes access to loads of behind-the-scenes information and interviews, in addition to player profiles and analyses of different matches.

Kevin Tucker

Guides Editor

Kevin Tucker is a core component of Shacknews' powerful guide development team. For questions, concerns, tips, or to share constructive criticism, he can be reached on Twitter @dukeofgnar or through e-mail at kevin.tucker@shacknews.com.