ESports

Esports viewing continues rapid growth

Streaming of esports increased by almost 70% in 2020. According to a new report from Stream Hatchet, the esports market continued to grow in 2020, with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic causing a surge in viewing. Live sports across the world were brought to a halt in the early part of the year, and […]

Microsoft buys esports platform Smash.gg

Microsoft has announced the acquisition of esports tournament platform Smash.gg. The platform organises online and live gaming competitions and has raised millions in funding since its 2015 launch. It started as a community-led organisation tool for Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. series but has since evolved into a more broad portal for esports. In a statement, […]

Now TV takes first steps into esports with Qlash partnership

Sky has taken its latest step into esports via a partnership between its streaming service Now TV and Italian organisation Qlash. The companies claim that this deal makes Now TV the first OTT platform to invest in the esports world. Italy is a growing market for esports, with about 1.4 million enthusiasts in the country. […]

Riot Games launches Valorant Champions Tour esports tournament

League of Legends maker Riot Games has announced the first official esports tournament for its fledgling title Valorant. Announcing the launch of The Champions Tour, Riot’s senior director of esports Whalen ‘Magus’ Rozelle said that the series will “launch Valorant into a global esport” and that there will be an expanded competition calendar spread across […]

Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin leaves streaming company

Kevin Lin, a co-founder of live streaming platform Twitch, is to leave the Amazon company. His departure leaves CEO Emmett shear as the only remaining Twitch co-founder still at the company, with Justin Kan, Kyle Vogt and Michael Seibel all having left in recent years. Lin spent the majority of his time with the company […]

Huya and DouYu confirm merger to create US$11 billion Twitch rival controlled by Tencent

Game streaming platform Huya has announced an all-share deal to buy competitor DouYu in a move which will create an esports empire worth more than US$11 billion. The move will merge China’s two biggest competitive esports platforms, and confirms a deal initially proposed by mediator Tencent in August. Tencent currently owns 38% of DouYu, and […]

Twitch continues APAC expansion with exec and sales hires

Amazon-owned game streaming platform has continued its focus on the APAC region with the hires of two former Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) execs and its first salespeople in Taiwan. The appointments are Sunil Yadav as agency development lead for APAC and Mandar Kambli as programmatic enablement lead. Yadav joins Twitch after spending the past year […]

Former Turner Sports president Levy joins star-studded investor roll at esports firm Andbox

Former Turner Sports president David Levy has announced investment in esports outfit Andbox. It is currently unclear how much the TV industry veteran has put in, but it is enough for him to be appointed as Andbox’s advisory board chairman. Andbox is New York’s leading esports organisation which owns the city’s first professional esports team […]

Facebook Gaming secures landmark streaming deal with music industry for creators

Facebook Gaming has announced a breakthrough agreement that will allow partnered streamers to play copyrighted music in their live streams. This has long been an issue for live streamers on platforms like Twitch, who have had strict restrictions on use of licensed music. Amazon owned Twitch, for example, specifies that creators may use music owned […]

Tencent to create US$10 billion esports streaming giant with merger of DouYu and Huya

Media giant Tencent wants to create a US$10 billion Chinese equivalent to game streaming platform Twitch by merging the country’s two biggest esports companies. DouYu and Huya have long been battling to become the top esports platform in China, but Tencent has announced plans to bring them together under one roof. Tencent is also an […]

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