IBM signs agreement with Overwatch League. With a new contract with Overwatch League, where it will showcase its Watson artificial intelligence system and cloud computing products, IBM makes its first foray into esports. The deal begins with the 2020 Grand Finals in progress, plus the OWL seasons of 2021 and 2022. There was no disclosure of financial terms.
As part of the deal, IBM becomes the official AI, cloud, and analytics partner of OWL. OWL will use IBM’s suite of analytics tools including Watson AI and machine learning to process in-match data, find new ways to showcase stats, improve the league’s ranking systems and create predictive analysis.
Activision Blizzard Esports CRO Brandon Snow shares “We’re constantly striving to give fans the ability to more meaningfully engage with the Overwatch League, and teaming up with IBM enables us to do just that. IBM’s cutting-edge AI and machine learning, underpinned by cloud technologies, will help enable us to bring interactive and innovative engagement opportunities to our fans and teams. This is a fantastic benefit to our viewers, and we’re very excited to be announcing it during the biggest event of our season.”
IBM VP/Sports & Entertainment Partnerships Noah Syken added “We’re thrilled to bring our world class Cloud platforms and Watson portfolio to one of the leading esports platforms in the world. The solutions we’re partnering to create can help the organizations, players, and fans enjoy an even more immersive, engaging experience. We look forward to working with the Overwatch League, to bring innovative solutions at scale, to broad and relevant audiences.”
