Facebook has taken yet another step towards becoming the next major platform for esports broadcasting. Earlier today, the largest social platform announced that it has secured the exclusive right to broadcast the Paladins Premier League content. The partnership enables Facebook to engage over 15 million fans of the first person shooter game Paladins.
Hi-Rez Studios and the World eSports Association (WESA) will launch the Paladins Premier League later this year and the content will be streamed exclusively through Facebook. Once the joint venture of WESA and Hi-Rez Studios turns into reality, amateur players will be given a chance to become professional gamers through Facebook Groups. In addition, a weekly Paladins Esports Show will be created. It will be broadcasted on the new Watch platform and it will be focused on news, analysis and insights into the league competition.
Patrick Chapman, who is in charge of the Gaming and Esports Partnerships at Facebook, was quoted as saying that their main objective was building a vibrant community that watches, plays and shares games. He went on to say that the establishment of such a community would undoubtedly deliver more meaningful interactions between players.
Hi-Rez Studios’ co-founder and COO Todd Harris also commented on the partnership and said that the team wanted to “meet our community where they are”. He went on to say that Facebook would provide Paladins’ fans with the chance to meet fellow-players from across the country, form a team, win cash, and even become professionals within the platform.
The Paladins Premier League follows the launch of the $350,000 Paladins Global Series. The latter was an open-bracket tournament series where non-professionals formed teams from the official Paladins group on Facebook.
As for the exclusive League streaming rights, this is not the first partnership deal of this kind for Facebook. Earlier this year, the platform has secured monthly PUBG broadcasts, as well as 5,500 hours of ESL tournament coverage.