Kwesé Sports, Econet Media’s premium sports content platform, has signed a five-year deal with the world’s largest esports company and the global industry leader ESL.
The agreement gives Kwesé rights to use and distribute ESL content and host events across Africa. This is ESL’s first partnership with a TV broadcaster in the African continent, further cementing the company’s commitment to geographical expansion and bringing esports to the living rooms of millions of people worldwide. Through this partnership, Kwesé and ESL will bring the first ever continental esports championship to Africa. In addition to bringing live events to the continent, Kwesé will also be launching the continent’s first 24/7 esports channel in the coming months.
Enthusiasts from all over the continent are already taking part in international tournaments which draw record crowds and online viewership to signature events in the Intel Extreme Masters, ESL One and ESL Pro League circuits. This partnership creates an opportunity for African esports fans to witness live events as well as experience the action online.
This follows hot-on-the-heels of Kwesé’s announcement of its inaugural African Challenge Esport (ACE) gaming tournament currently underway at the rAge Expo in Johannesburg South Africa.
“We are committed to making our platforms the home for esports and gaming in Africa. This partnership with ESL is an important development for the nascent African esports market which continues to grow in popularity. We look forward to realising the full potential of this partnership in future” says Joseph Hundah, Chief Executive Officer| Econet Media
On choosing Kwesé and the potential of African esports, ESL’s Managing Director and Head of esports at Modern Times Group Malte Barth said “We are extremely excited to have partnered with Kwesé. We chose them because their ambitions for this market mirror ours and their focus around the esports community in their markets. We have seen the increasing viewership and community engagement across the continent, especially in South Africa and we know that we can grow and better serve the esports community through tailored events and local content based on our globally leading eSports footprint”