Turner Sports’ ELEAGUE Inks Exclusive Domestic-TV-Rights Deal for EA Sports FIFA 20 Events

TBS will become exclusive U.S. destination for FIFA 20 televised programming

Turner Sports’ ELEAGUE is getting into FIFA esports in a big way, inking a deal with Electronic Arts to produce a new episodic series on TBS — dubbed “EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series on the Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup 2020” — and three EA Sports FIFA 20 Ultimate Team (FUT) Champions Cup events (the most of any FIFA 20 Global Series tournament partner) across North America and Europe throughout 2020. The first ELEAGUE-produced event will begin Jan. 17 at ELEAGUE Arena in Atlanta.

The collaboration makes ELEAGUE on TBS the exclusive English-language domestic-television partner of the EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series on the Road to FIFA eWorld Cup. ELEAGUE will televise the best moments from EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series tournaments and the FIFA eWorld Cup 2020 through several episodes debuting in January on TBS. Fans will be able to access complete coverage of the year-long tournament series — including key matches, behind-the-scenes player interviews, and more — through ELEAGUE’s episodic content aired on TBS.

“This expanded partnership builds on the successful relationship we’ve established with Electronic Arts and represents even more opportunities to provide fans with compelling live moments and culturally relevant esports content,” says Jennifer Dill, VP, esports, Turner Sports. “In addition to the role ELEAGUE will play in the growth of EA Sports FIFA 20 as a top-tier esport and viewing experience, we are looking forward to leveraging the full breadth of Turner Sports’ platforms and sports programming to drive additional excitement surrounding the EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series.”

Says Brent Koning, commissioner, FIFA competitive gaming, EA Sports, “Turner Sports is the ultimate sports-entertainment partner because they create culturally relevant and engaging content, optimized for traditional and digital platforms. This year’s partnership with ELEAGUE and the EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series is much larger in scope and will bring the world’s esport to the masses in North America and beyond.”

The first FUT Champions Cup produced by ELEAGUE will take place Jan. 17-19 at ELEAGUE Arena in Atlanta. ELEAGUE will also hold two additional FUT Champions Cup events in Europe in 2020. Additional details about those events will be revealed in future announcements.

FUT Champions Cup tournaments are known for attracting some of the best and most popular professional players from around the world, as they compete for EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series points and prize money. Top performers at these events can climb the EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series rankings and qualify for the FIFA eWorld Cup 2020, the EA Sports FIFA 20 Global Series season finale, where a world champion will be crowned.

In 2019, ELEAGUE partnered with EA to host the ELEAGUE FUT Champions Cup February, when 17-year-old phenom Donovan ‘F2tekkz’ Hunt claimed victory at ELEAGUE Arena. Beyond hosting the competition, ELEAGUE created unique content surrounding the tournament by aligning with Turner Sports’ UEFA Champions League soccer production. In the weeks following the event, ELEAGUE produced a popular documentary series that celebrated the tournament’s most exciting moments.