How Activision and YouTube Attracted Record Viewers to the First Virtual Call of Duty League Championship

Samson Amore
·1 min read

Less than a year after shutting down a worldwide esports league to create another from scratch, “Call of Duty” owner Activision Blizzard’s new broadcasting partnership with YouTube is paying off. An exclusive deal with YouTube Gaming inked in January boosted the League’s profile at a crucial time — coronavirus forced the Activision to cancel all in-person home matches and switch the typical in-season esports matches to a virtual format in March. The bet on YouTube was strategic for Activision, as most younger esports viewers spend hours on the platform a day — and Activision was forced to lean on online broadcast more heavily to promote its content this season. Over 360,000 people worldwide tuned into the first virtual Call of Duty League Championship — between the Atlanta FaZe and Dallas Empire — on Aug. 30, a record-setting audience number for any “Call of Duty” esport event. Activision said that figure was up from 200,000 people who tuned in to watch the Las Vegas Open event last year. The Dallas Empire won this year’s championship, and took home the largest share of a split $4.6 million prize pool — $1.5 million — plus a huge onyx “Call of Duty” themed throne...

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