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Forget the Super Bowl, ESPN will air FIFA e-sports championship this weekend

Forget the Super Bowl, ESPN will air FIFA e-sports championship this weekend

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The Paris Regional Finals for FIFA’s Ultimate Team Championship Series are approaching this weekend, and fans will be able to watch the competition on ESPN. The telecast is the first time the network has aired an e-sports event on its main channel in the US. Previous broadcasts, such as the Street Fighter V world championship in 2016, have aired on ESPN2.

The FIFA Ultimate Team Championship series will also be streaming on EA’s site, Twitch, and YouTube, with additional coverage airing on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN3. ESPN also intends to air the six remaining FIFA EA Majors globally, hitting more than 60 countries. The Paris Regional Final is Saturday, February 4th at 12PM ET, while a tape-delay telecast airs Sunday, February 5th. A full schedule is available on EA’s site.

The FIFA franchise has been around since the early ‘90s and has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide; it’s considered one of the best-selling video game franchises.

ESPN’s vice president of programming and acquisitions, John Lasker, said the network is expanding its “competitive gaming portfolio to include events that also resonate with traditional sports fans.”