FIFA 19 GlobalSeries posts 25% increase in viewership17 totalpartnerships signed this seasonEA wants FIFA tobe recognized as a top esports
EA Sports FIFA 19Global Series generated 25% increase in viewership, thanks to 17partnerships with international soccer bodies and interestedorganizations.
EA Sports FIFA Series Viewership Continues toGrow
EA Sports flagship titleFIFA 19 Global Series continues to break new records. In ajoint-statement released on Friday, June 21, theFédérationInterna taya365 tionale de Football Association (FIFA)and the game developer reported that viewership for the video gamehas jumped 25%year-over-year.
Accordingto the official statement, the Series generated 680million minutes of viewed timeand 61million total views.EA Sports have long been predicting the potential of their game andto date, there is no other sports simulator that has been assuccessful as FIFA 19 in converting traditional sports fans intoesports aficionados and vice versa.
Thecontinued growth of the series is underpinnedby the outreach strategy that EA Sports have leveraged this year,signing up as many as 17 official league partners, compared toeight last season. EA Sports held many firsts this season, includingthe FIFAeNations Cup andthe eChampionsLeague.
The FIFA 19 Series are also part of the official digital competition of many mainstream soccer contests, including theEnglish Premier League, La Liga, and the Danish Super Liga. The growing popularity of the game has been touted for a while now.
FIFACompetitive Gaming Commissioner, BrentKoning,has highlighted the results achieved by the company as a result ofthe partnerships with mainstream soccer bodies. Here is what MrKoning had to say:
We’rethrilled to see a global community rally around the FIFA 19 GlobalSeries in such monumental ways. Now,we watch the top 120 players that qualified for the FIFA 19 GlobalSeries Playoffs compete in pursuit of becoming world champion at theFIFA eWorld Cup 2019.
Esports as an Important GrowthFactor for Traditional Sport
Mr. Koning statedthat the growth of viewership was indicative of the importance ofesports in the overall expansion of soccer across the world. He wasjoined by eFootball & Gaming Director at FIFA ChristianVolk whoexpressed his excitement and anticipation towards the FIFA eWorld Cupwhich will reunite 32 of the best FIFA 19 players in the summer.
Thecompetition will be available for two types of console players, toname Xbox and PlayStation 4. The Xboxplayoff will kick off on July 5 – 7 in Hamburg,Germany followed by the PlayStation4 oneon July 12-14 in Berlin,Germany.
FIFA eWorld Cup 2019 will give a chance to the world’s currently best-ranked FIFA players which have had a chance to distinguish themselves during the regular season. All players who make it to the finals o the eWorld Cup will have a chance to win a part of the $16,000 prize pool.
Earlier this year,EA’s Senior VP of Competitive Gaming, ToddSitrin, expressed hopes that FIFA wouldbe able to join ranks with the “top three esports titles,”citing Dota 2, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike: GlobalOffensive (CS:GO). In light of the growing viewership, Mr. Sitrin maybe right.
