The exclusive livestreaming deal between YouTube and Activision Blizzard, which was announced last month, is valued at $160 million.
This is according to The Esports Observer’s sources.
The sum is a total Google paid for Call of Duty, Overwatch, and Hearthstone, with Overwatch accounting for the biggest part of the sum.
The sources also claim there are achievable incentive clauses for ad sales and viewership targets, which is good news for the esports professionals.
The Esports Observer cites Endeavor Senior VP/Esports Stuart Saw, who thus commented on the deal:
This a big moment in esports history. This is the first time a tier one western game developer has gone exclusive with one of its products off of Twitch since ironically Activision did so with Call of Duty fiveish years ago. For YouTube, it’s a real statement of intent for them to bolster a growing product.
Amazon-owned Twitch continues to dominate the streaming industry, but according to Saw, the intensifying competition might signal the imminent arrival of a fragmented market.
While the deal is focused on YouTube, it also covers Google’s cloud computing services that the company will now provide to the games publisher. Again, Amazon’s loss.