YouTube to provide exclusive streaming for Esports Championship Series

FACEIT Makes YouTube the Exclusive Home of the Esports Championship Series

LONDON — FACEIT, the leading competitive gaming platform and creators of the Esports Championship Series (ECS), and YouTube, announce today a multi-year partnership to make YouTube the exclusive online home for the groundbreaking competition. ECS, which features Valve’s massively popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, will stream exclusively on YouTube starting on the 25th of March with the ECS Promotion matches. Fans of ECS and esports can find all the action live on the new ECS YouTube channel.

The partnership between FACEIT and YouTube offers fans of competitive gaming a distinct opportunity to enjoy their favorite esport like never before. With YouTube’s unique features and advanced video technology, and FACEIT’s world class competitive gaming platform, users will see key features including high bitrate 1080p 60fps live video, instant playback to relive those unforgettable moments, and advanced future integrations that will be unveiled within both the YouTube video platform and the FACEIT competitive gaming platform. Additionally, YouTube will actively work with ECS league players to provide guidance to maximize engagement on their YouTube channels and build their audiences.

“YouTube offers fans of the ECS an unmatched online viewing experience,” said Michele Attisani, Chief Business Officer and co-founder of FACEIT. “YouTube is by far the most watched platform for gamers in the world and continues to innovate and lead on video technology, making it a great place for us to call our new home for the Esports Championship Series.”

By offering live streaming in addition to existing video-on-demand content, YouTube is burnishing its role as the central hub of esports content. And advertisers will be able to tap into the growing ecosystem of esports through new sponsorship packages of the league on YouTube.

“This is our most significant investment into esports to date and illustrates our continued commitment to growing esports with the hundreds of millions of gamers watching YouTube each day,” said Ryan Wyatt, Global Head of Gaming Content at YouTube. “The ECS revenue sharing and co-ownership structure reinforces our belief that all players should have a voice. We know the CS:GO community is already watching clips, highlights, and rebroadcasts on YouTube, so we are excited to be able to bring them all this same action live.”