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YouTube bags rights to all Activision E-sports

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As if it wasn’t big enough already, YouTube has just nabbed the rights to all Activision e-sports events including Call of Duty and Overwatch.

Over the weekend YouTube secured its first major coup of 2020. The video sharing mecca revealed it’s signed an exclusive partnership with Activision meaning all e-sports tourneys will now be hosted on YouTube for the foreseeable future – including two of the sports’ most popular properties in Call of Duty and Overwatch.

Those who keep up with esports will recall that Twitch penned a lucrative deal with Activision for the first two seasons of the Overwatch League around June 2017, but it appears YouTube were plotting a move to dislodge their streaming rivals the second that contract ended. This radical power shift came as a bit of a shock to me, as Twitch were always regarded as the lynchpins of all things streaming. However, when you delve into the analytics that make up our reported 13 billion hours of livestreaming last year, you’ll see that YouTube is by far the dominant force where video game streams are concerned.

Though YouTube currently boasts the accolade of being the largest video site in the world and the second most-visited site on the planet (behind its parent company Google), its standalone gaming hub ‘YouTube Gaming’ has failed to really flourish in the grand scheme of YouTube’s ecosystem since 2015. This latest acquisition could see a meteoric upturn in its fortunes though, as e-sports continues to grow notably more popular among Gen Z audiences every year. In 2018 alone, a staggering 6.6 billion hours were sunk into esports events by streamers across the globe. Just imagine 2020’s numbers with YouTube’s rocket boosters attached. Man oh man.

Research company eMarketer reckon that in the US alone, e-sports audiences are set to reach upwards of 46.6 million by 2023 – compared to 34.8 million in 2020 – while estimating that ad & sponsorship revenues will soar from around $82 million (2017) to £164 million this year. So… a pretty safe investment then.

To this point, company scrabbling for the title of streaming omega has been a war of attrition over who could tie down the most influential streamers. Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, and even Facebook have all launched separate initiatives to secure the signatures of as many prevalent stars as possible; like ‘Tfue’ (Twitch), ‘LazarBeam’ (YouTube), ‘Ninja’ (Mixer), and ‘Corinna Kopf’ (Facebook).

But, to my knowledge this latest deal marks the first occasion an actual organisation (Activision) has publicly jumped ship from one host platform to another. Now, with exclusive rights to several quintessential esports franchises, including Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Hearthstone, it’s safe to say this latest triumph represents more than just another standard feather in YouTube’s cap.

As for Activision, this latest blow rounds off a pretty torrid year for them. As large numbers of viewers fled to pastures new for their streaming needs in 2019, so did plenty of their high-profile players. The two biggest departures came in the form of ‘Ninja’ and ‘Shroud’ who left for Mixer, but ‘CouRage’s’ decamp for YouTube will have stung some too.

Twitch can’t afford to sit around and lick its wounds for long though. YouTube aren’t showing any signs of slowing down in their crusade to become the ultimate entertainment hub, and you can bet Activision e-sports won’t be their only swoop of 2020.

Gaming Editor London, UK

I’m Jamie (He/Him), the Deputy Editor and a Senior Writer at Thred. Keeping up with social media updates and revolutionary technology is my forte, but when away from my keyboard, you’ll probably find me wrapped around a large Tango ice blast at the latest mediocre horror flick. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.

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