DreamHack and ESL have sold the Polish broadcast rights to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive circuit ESL Pro Tour to Polsat Games.
Polsat Games will broadcast up to 2,000 hours of CS:GO from the tournament series in 2020, according to a release.
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Hosting the majority of the broadcasts directly from its own studio in Warsaw, Polsat Games will provide Polish commentary and analysis for its viewers.
Ewa Czekala, Program Manager of Polsat Games, discussed the move in a release: “Extending Polsat Games’ offer to broadcast the prestigious ESL Pro Tour tournaments in CS:GO is a very important step in the development of linear television. We are aware of the value CS:GO brings to Polsat Games and to esports fans, offering them great matches of Polish athletes competing on big international stages.
“We are extremely proud to have kicked-off our adventure together with ESL at this years’ IEM Katowice, one of the most important CS:GO tournaments which is watched by millions of fans around the world every year.”
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The ESL Pro Tour aims to create a more complete path from “zero to hero” for aspiring players, and a more cohesive overall structure for fans. Region-specific broadcast rights agreements for the circuit have also been announced with TV2 Denmark, Maincast, ProSiebenSat.1, Telia Finland, and TV 2 Norway.
Torsten Haux, Vice President Global Media Rights at ESL, also spoke on the deal: “Counter-Strike has always been a strong product in Poland due to the IEM Katowice tournament and an overall strong player and viewer base. We are therefore super happy that Polsat, as the number one private broadcasting platform in Poland, has decided to put a greater focus on esports by hosting our CS:GO competitions on Polsat Games. We can’t wait for the Polsat team to start bringing best-in-class and entertaining CS:GO action directly into esports fans’ homes!”
Esports Insider says: There has been an influx of such announcements in recent times and our opinion has remained the same: DreamHack and ESL have done a great job in building a product that can generate plenty of revenue – especially when it comes to media rights. The regional reach of the ESL Pro Tour only grows with deals such as this.