Danish Counter-Strike outfit North has announced an exclusive streaming agreement with Twitch. The deal will see North’s Counter-Strike squad start streaming on the Twitch platform exclusively in a “multi-year” agreement.
North CEO, Christian Sørensen commented: “Media rights and live content are cornerstones in the professional sports business, as well as in esports. In Twitch we have found a strategic partner that share our vision for the future of livestreaming”.
“By utilising Twitch’s platform and services, we can potentially reach millions of fans, while at the same time help our players build their brands”, Sørensen added.
“Ensuring the Nordic region has quick, easy access to the CS:GO competitive scene is a top priority for us,” said Pontus Eskilsson, Senior Partnerships Manager, EMEA at Twitch. He added: “Our partnership with North will allow the top CS:GO pros in Denmark to connect with the game’s most enthusiastic community, as well as bring top-level gameplay to our platform.”
North are the esports affiliate of F.C. Copenhagen, one of the most successful Danish football clubs. They’re one of the only football clubs to truly embrace esports outside of simply signing a FIFA player, and most definitely a rare case of a football club entering CS:GO.
The roster is currently comprised of Mathias “MSL” Lauridsen, Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke, René “cajunb” Borg, Philip “aizy” Aistrup and Valdemar “valde” Bjorn. The all-Danish squad sit third in the world rankings, one space ahead of FaZe Clan and behind just G2 and SK Gaming.
There’s been no shortage of deals signed with Twitch in the past twelve months. North join the likes of Cloud9, TSM, NiP, Liquid and OpTic Gaming with an exclusive broadcasting partnership. Additionally, Twitch holds partnerships with the likes of Blizzard and DreamHack but to name a few.
This year was touted by many as the period where the battle over broadcasting rights hotted up. Whilst that does seem the case on the whole, we’ve still not seen as much activity as many predicted. Facebook and YouTube have both made slight dents in the Twitch portfolio but to date, it still remains the biggest platform for both streaming and esports.
Esports Insider says: Congratulations to both parties. Hopefully we get to watch hours of the sensational talent of the likes of k0nfig on a regular basis now on Twitch.