Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
The Overwatch League 
(OWL) will announce today it’s signed Anheuser-Busch InBev as a sponsor for the rest of the 2019 season, making Bud Light the official beer of the esports league everywhere except China.
The deal includes live activation at four key events and sponsored broadcasts on ABC/ESPN2 in the coming months, starting Saturday at the newly named Bud Light Homestand Weekend – Dallas. The two-day, eight-team event, hosted by the Dallas Fuel at the Allen Event Center, marks the OWL’s first games outside LA’s Blizzard Arena in LA as the league prepares to shift to a full home-and-away schedule in 2020.
Bud Light will also entitle a similar event in Atlanta in July, and will activate at two other major OWL events: LA Rivalry Weekend in August and the 2019 Grand Finals, which is yet to have a date and location announced. It will also be present at local watch parties in other OWL markets.
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Bud Light will sponsor an ESPN2 broadcast of the action from 8-10pm ET on Saturday, along with an ABC broadcast on July 6 and ESPN2 broadcast on July 7 from Atlanta.
According to Nielsen Esports Fan Insights, 75% of OWL fans outside of China are of legal drinking age. In the US, 64% of OWL fans are 21 or older. Terms were not disclosed. Endeavor Global Marketing advised ABI on the deal.
The deal marks a return to esports for Bud Light, which was among the first non-endemic brands to make a big splash in gaming when it launched “Bud Light All Stars” in 2016. That program drew mixed reviews and ended after two years in 2017.
This weekend, Bud Light will operate a branded bar at the Allen Event Center, bring along the Bud Light Knight character and launch a sweepstakes for fans to win a trip to the Grand Finals, according to the Dallas Fuel.
Ben Fischer is a staff writer for SportsBusiness Daily, where this article appeared first.
