Facebook To Stream ‘CS:GO’ Pro League Events

Kirill | 2018-02-05 |

ESL, the company that organizes eSports competitions around the world, has announced they have signed an agreement with Facebook, making the giant of social networks its main transmission partner. That will surely give a strong competition to platforms like Twitch and YouTube.

The alliance dictates that Facebook will now exclusively broadcast important DotA 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments, as ESL is the new home of the CS:GO Pro League.

Facebook Will Exclusively Stream ‘CS:GO’ Pro League Esports Events

Birth of Facebook Watch

In addition to the huge user base that Facebook has, it is mentioned that one of the key points for this alliance is to give birth to Facebook Watch. It is a platform for video distribution that received several perfect technical improvements for those who like to watch eSports. Its main features include 1080p/60fps transmissions and even Virtual Reality.

ESL Extending Horizons

ESL indicates that the Portuguese and English broadcast will include a much more advanced viewing experience. They have already partnered with Own3d, Twitch, and YouTube to broadcast its streaming tournaments. The success of these different platforms has inspired the company to test new distribution channels.

Cross-Posting

One of the advantages offered by the social network is its service called cross-posting. This feature allows matches to be posted on several pages simultaneously. This includes the information of teams and players, with the future promise to offer streams in virtual reality. In the case of cross-posting, this is a feature that neither Twitch nor YouTube Gaming offers. It could be the difference that attracts viewers to Facebook during broadcasts. As for VR streams, the idea is one of the company’s strategies to “bring virtuality to billions of people”. This has been promised by Mark Zuckerberg for some time.

Facebook Up for the Big Challenge?

Last year Facebook also released to PCs the transmission of videos to Facebook Live. This feature was previously only limited to smartphones. Now, with this first major partnership, the social network seems to be intent on leveraging their services to next level. Their major plan will be a chance to go toe to toe with the industry giants, Twitch and YouTube Gaming. These two platforms exceeded Netflix and HBO audiences in 2017.

Now the challenge for the company is to get a share of this fast-growing market. They need to convince other professional eSports organizations and streamers that their platform is the ideal destination for broadcasts of both major tournaments and daily games.

Facebook will have to do a lot more to entice loyal Twitch and YouTube viewers to their side. They have to prove that their stream platform is attractive enough for people who are too familiar with the Twitch chat culture. The deal with ESL One is a big step toward that ambitious goal.

The first event of ESL that was broadcasted on Facebook was ESL One DotA 2. It took place from January 23 to 28. On February 13, the audience can watch the live action of CS:GO Pro League.