Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the US media conglomerate, and heavyweight sports streaming service DAZN will provide global coverage of the inaugural Esports World Cup (EWC).
WBD will cover the multi-genre esports competition on its platforms and channels in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
The media giant said it will use its Eurosport and CNN brands “to help the EWC reach new audiences across the globe through a multi-platform approach that will include a host of innovations to help elevate esports coverage for mainstream audiences.”
This will include esports shows and new social media formats via a dedicated section on the Eurosport website.
The Max and Discovery+ streaming services will also offer viewers live streaming of selected sessions from the EWC.
DAZN, meanwhile, will cover the eight-week tournament free-to-air worldwide, in a long-term strategic partnership that builds on its existing relationship with Riyadh Season (with the EWC set to take place in the Saudi capital between July 3 and August 24).
The platform, mostly through coverage of boxing fights, has previous experience in covering high-profile sporting action from Saudi Arabia, such as the heavyweight fight in late May between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
WBD and DAZN's deals have been struck with Esports World Cup Foundation, the tournament’s organizing body, with DAZN building on the steadily growing list of sporting properties it will cover via its free tier.
DAZN will cover hundreds of hours of content from the EWC, both live and on-demand, and has said it will work with the tournament’s organizers “to produce and deliver content to fans that optimizes their experience and helps growth reach and audience."
The first-ever EWC will have a total prize pool of over $60 million, the largest prize pool ever for an esports tournament, beating the previous record of $45 million set by 'Gamers8: The Land of Heroes' in 2023, also in Saudi Arabia.
The event is part of a wider scheme to accelerate the country’s National Gaming and Esports Strategy, itself a scheme within the country’s Vision 2030 objectives of diversifying its economy, growing tourism, and creating jobs.
The EWC's game lineup consists of Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, EA Sports FC 24, Fortnite, Free Fire, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Overwatch 2, PUBG Battleground, PUBG Mobile, Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 Siege, ESL R1, Rocket League, StarCraft II, Street Fighter 6, Teamfight Tactics and Tekken 8.
Earlier this month, the tournament’s organizers announced a commercial partnership with KitKat.
In May, DAZN launched 10 new free-to-air channels through the expansion of its partnership with cloud-based broadcast technology firm Amagi.
