ESL, the world’s largest esports company, today announced that it will live stream exclusive esports events and original content on Facebook. ESL will stream content from Rank S competitions, an elite ladder for the Counter-Strike:Global Offensive (CS:GO) community, as well as an exclusive weekly 30-minute CS:GO program that showcases the best players, upcoming talent and competition highlights. All ESL One and Intel® Extreme Masters events will also stream globally on ESL’s Facebook network in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and German. In total, ESL will bring more than 5,500 hours of esports content to Facebook.
“With over 1.94 billion monthly active users on Facebook, this is a huge step toward expanding the reach of esports among mainstream audiences,” said Johannes Schiefer, Vice President of Social Media and Editorial at ESL. “Last year, ESL content generated over 2 billion impressions and reached over 200 million users on Facebook globally. Now, with the addition of live streaming for all major ESL events, as well as exclusive content around CS:GO and ESEA, we are excited to expand our reach to more audiences and build strong local communities of highly engaged esports fans.”
ESEA is ESL’s subscription-based community platform for amateur, semi-professional and professional CS:GO players. ESEA’s Rank S competition is a division comprised of over 300 of the best North American and European ESEA players, competing for a $40,000 prize pool each month across the two regions.
“Rank S is defined by the world’s best CS:GO gameplay and it’s fueled by a knowledgeable, passionate fan base that craves great live matches, news and analysis. Delivering original video content to this audience ties directly to Facebook’s commitment to build the world’s community for people to play, watch and share games they love,” said Patrick Chapman, Gaming and Esports Partnerships at Facebook. “ESL’s use of Facebook Groups as a cornerstone of its video distribution strategy is an innovative approach that encourages greater participation from the vibrant community of CS:GO fans around the world.”
