Electronic Arts ( EA) and Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) announced that the EA SPORTS FIFA 19 Global Series generated more than 680 million minutes watched, a 60 per cent annual increase and 61 million total views, a 25 per cent year-over-year increase.
“We’re thrilled to see a global community rally around the EA SPORTS FIFA 19 Global Series in such monumental ways. Our partnerships with FIFA, UEFA and 17 world-class football leagues elevates our connection to the traditional sport driving unprecedented player and spectator engagement. Now, we watch the top 128 players that qualified for the EA SPORTS FIFA 19 Global Series Playoffs compete in pursuit of becoming world champion at the FIFA eWorld Cup 2019,” said FIFA competitive gaming commissioner Brent Koning.
Significant viewership growth was anchored by many key factors as the FIFA 19 Global Series featured 17 official league partners vs. eight last season, the first-ever eChampions League in collaboration with UEFA crowned NYC_Chris as its inaugural respective champion and the FIFA eNations Cup was successfully introduced for the first time.
“The continuous increase in viewership underlines the huge interest in competitive FIFA and the importance of eSports in the ongoing growth of football across the world. We are looking forward to welcoming the best 32 EA SPORTS FIFA 19 players to the FIFA eWorld Cup this summer and crowning the ultimate champion of this record-breaking season,” said Christian Volk, director efootball and gaming at FIFA.
FIFA 19 Global Series Playoffs starts first with the Xbox ladder on 5 to 7 July in Hamburg, Germany with the PlayStation4 bracket occurring 12 to 14 July in Berlin, Germany.