EXCLUSIVE: The Esports World Cup Basis is partnering with world sports activities advertising company IMG for the second version of its worldwide championship working within the Saudi capital of Riyadh from July 7 to August 24.
Unfolding in Riyadh’s Boulevard Metropolis leisure district, the 2025 Esports World Cup (EWC) will welcome 2,000 elite gamers from 200 golf equipment hailing from 100 territories.
IMG will present broadcast manufacturing, content material technique, world rights administration, and worldwide distribution by way of SNTV, a three way partnership with The Related Press.
The deal contains the manufacturing of two-hour present EWC Highlight which can broadcast reside Friday via Sunday each championship weekend from a custom-built studio within the coronary heart of Boulevard Metropolis.
Hosted by UK sports activities presenters Hugh Woozencroft and Rachel Stringer, it is going to mix esports highlights, leisure and popular culture options, behind-the-scenes entry, round 60 movie star appearances, and academic segments.
It kicks off with a particular premiere on Thursday, that includes a reside efficiency by U.S. performer and avid gamer Put up Malone on the EWC opening ceremony that night.
“With EWC Highlight, we’re creating a brand new gateway into esports, not only for the tens of millions already engaged, however for the billions but to find their ardour for aggressive gaming,” stated Ralf Reichert, CEO, Esports World Cup Basis.
“By mixing elite competitors, mainstream leisure, and cultural storytelling, we’re breaking limitations between esports and conventional media. Partnering with IMG, a world chief in sports activities manufacturing and content material, permits us to indicate the world what esports actually represents: an evolution in world leisure, sports activities, and tradition.”
EWC Highlight shall be broadcast throughout a choice of English-language broadcast and OTT companions, with a possible viewers of over 250 million individuals, together with Fox (U.S.), DAZN (U.S., Germany), beIN (MENA), Channel 7 (Australia), TRT (Turkey), Astro (Malaysia), TAP (Philippines), GOAT (Brazil), Nsports (Brazil), Tremendous Sport (Africa), Star Occasions (Africa), WHATS TV (Spain), HoyTv (Hong Kong) amongst others.
In whole, IMG will create and produce greater than 50 hours of programming, overlaying reside esports motion, in addition to digital and social content material, and an authentic documentary showcasing the largest groups within the competitors.
It has additionally labored with EWC to develop a world distribution technique for the match’s programming and can leverage its community of world media consultants to handle the content material worldwide. As well as, EWC has appointed SNTV to distribute each day content material of the match to world broadcasters and media companions by way of its sports activities video manufacturing and distribution company, Story10.
“The Esports World Cup is as large because it will get for gaming followers and we’re excited to assist carry the match to followers throughout the globe via unmissable and headline-grabbing programming,” Barney Francis, EVP, Studios, IMG.
“Combining IMG’s premium manufacturing capabilities and creativity with our crew of world media consultants and strategists, this partnership allows us to offer an elevated viewer expertise for followers worldwide, as they watch their favorite groups and personalities battle it out on a world stage.”
Esports are a key pole of Saudi Arabia’s 2030 imaginative and prescient technique transferring the nation’s economic system away from a reliance on oil income, with a latest PwC report forecasting the native gaming sector shall be price $13.3B by the top of this decade.
The 2025 EWC prize pool of greater than $70 million is the most important within the historical past of esports.
This 12 months’s 2,000 EWC contributors will compete in 25 tournaments throughout 24 video games, together with Name of Responsibility: Warzone, Cellular Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) and motor-racing contest Rennsport.
Scorching crew favorites this 12 months embody reigning champions Crew Falcons in addition to Crew Liquid, FaZe Clan, Fnatic and Crew Vitality.
For the primary time, Chess is among the many video games within the line-up with five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen serving as each competitor for Crew Liquid and official International Ambassador. Different contenders within the match embody grandmasters Hikaru Nakamura (Crew Falcons), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Crew Vitality) and R Praggnanandhaa (Crew Liquid).
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has additionally joined as a International Ambassador, additional strengthening connections between esports and conventional sports activities.
IMG’s EWC partnership builds on a robust esports monitor document with the group beforehand engaged on occasions similar to EA Sports activities, BLAST, Epic Video games, PGL Esports, Riot Video games, the Worldwide Olympic Committee and the International Esports Video games.
The IMG manufacturing and content material is an element of a bigger EWC audiovisual operation promising 7,000 hours of reside content material, shot from 4 arenas and 26 studios, representing a 55% enhance on the 2024 providing.
A devoted world manufacturing employees of greater than 550 individuals, plus an occasion crew of greater than 300 individuals, shall be engaged on website.
Key world distribution companions embody FOX Sports activities and DAZN within the U.S; Eurosport, DAZN, and L’Equipe throughout Europe; TOD.television, MBC, TRT in MENA; SuperSport and StarTimes in Africa; Channel 7, Astro, TAP, Abema, Kuaishou, Douyin, and NAVER in Asia-Pacific. The tournaments may also be streamed reside on Twitch, YouTube and TikTok.
This 12 months’s version has additionally been teased by Prime Video’s five-part documentary Esports World Cup: Stage Up by Emmy-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler (Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, Elton John: By no means Too Late), going behind-the-scenes of the inaugural Esports World Cup in 2024.
In line with EWC figures, the 2024 version drew 500 million viewers, with 252 million hours watched, 6.3 million peak viewers and 311 million households reached by way of linear TV. The content material was delivered throughout greater than 2,000 channels and co-streams, producing over 3.5 billion impressions, with an estimated $1.2 billion media worth.
