YouTube not Twitch will stream Overwatch League esports tournament - here's why

YouTube not Twitch will be streaming Overwatch esports tournaments after a new deal.

Google (who own YouTube) and gaming company Activision Blizzard (who own games like Overwatch) have signed a contract which means that live broadcasts of Activision Blizzard's esports leagues and events will now only be available to watch on YouTube.

YouTube's Head of Gaming, Ryan Wyatt, said: "I couldn't be more excited for Activision Blizzard to choose YouTube as its exclusive home for the digital live streaming of both leagues."

Earlier this year YouTube also announced that it was buying two popular streamers from Twitch to stream on Youtube instead.

So what does this mean?

Why is the YouTube Activision Blizzard deal interesting?

For many people Twitch has been THE place to watch live streams of their favourite gamers, as well as esports competitions such as the Overwatch World Cup.

But now it seems like rival companies such as Mixer and YouTube want a slice of the action.

YouTube has around 200 million gamers who watch about 50 billion hours of gaming content each year.

Twitch on the other hand has around 15 million people, but their streaming figures are higher than YouTube's.

So, it looks like YouTube is trying to become more popular with streamers over the next few years.

San Francisco Shock beat the Vancouver Titans in last year's tournament

YouTube haven't said how much money they paid Twitch for the rights, but originally Twitch paid £69 million for the first two Seasons of Overwatch League, so it's likely to be quite a bit more.

Last year the Overwatch League Grand Finals drew in an audience of around 1.2 million viewers.

This year's season kicks off on YouTube on 8 February.