ESL One Frankfurt Comes to German Free TV

ESL, the worlds largest esports company, and SPORT1, Germanys leading 360 multimedia sports platform confirm rumours of a partnership to bring esports to German free-TV. As part of the deal, ESL One Frankfurt, Europes largest Dota 2 festival, is set to be broadcast on SPORT1 with live streams available on SPORT1.de and regular updates available through the official SPORTS1 esports app.

“It has always been our dream to make esports one of the world’s most popular sports,” said Ralf Reichert, Managing Director of ESL. “To distribute our content through traditional television channels isn’t just an opportunity that lies close to our hearts: it is also a milestone that when reached will help grow esports and its popularity. With this partnership we come one step closer to our mission of reaching every gamer in the world, which with the experience and competence of SPORT1 is sure to become a reality. We look forward to working closely with the SPORT1 team.”

The news comes as, for the third time in succession, ESL One Frankfurt prepares to take over Germanys 2006 World Cup football stadium. Last year, the event accommodated over 30,000 people live in the Commerzbank-Arena over the weekend, with a peak concurrent online viewership of over a million. This year, along with the thousands of expected attendees and online live stream viewers, the event will also cater to a traditional television audience: on Sunday, June 19 at 20:00 CEST, the Grand Finals will be broadcast on SPORT1. Alongside television coverage, SPORT1 will support the event by broadcasting the group stages on Friday, June 17 on SPORT1.de (in English), with the knockout stages on June 18 broadcast with additional German commentary.

By showing the final of the ESL One Frankfurt 2016, were offering our viewers an absolute eSports highlight as a live premiere on German free-TV, plus the entire weekend on livestream, said Ivo Hrstic, Director Digital at SPORT1 GmbH. Additionally, with the SPORT1 esports app, SPORT1 is offering all eSports fans the ideal app to keep them always up to date, wherever they are. Complemented by the extensive coverage on the eSports Channel at SPORT1.de, were focusing on comprehensive, up-to-the-minute eSports reporting for online and mobile.

The SPORT1 esports app offers the latest news, statistics, and background, as well as results, pictures, and videos from all the big eSports games, leagues, and tournaments compactly at a glance. The German-language app is available now, free of charge, for Android at Google Play and for iOS at the App Store. Added to this, SPORT1, as an official partner of ESL, the worlds biggest eSports company, has today launched a dedicated online store with selected eSports merchandise. The SPORT1 eSports store is open now via the esports-Channel on SPORT1.de and at esports-shop.sport1.de.