CDL wants to return to Youtube Gaming

The alleged return of the Call of Duty League to YouTube Gaming doesn’t seem like a good idea, as the league’s return to Youtube Gaming could likely spell the end of CDL watch parties.

Just a few days ago, during a poorly received community update, Call of Duty League General Manager Daniel Tsay touted the league’s live viewership, which he says is up 75 percent year-over-year. This number seems to indicate that the CDL is in its fourth year on the upswing. But this positive momentum could soon falter.

Back to Youtube Gaming?

The CDL is said to be looking to return to YouTube Gaming, the platform on which the league exclusively broadcast its games for the first three seasons before suddenly switching to Twitch just before the start of the current season. Apparently, however, the league hasn’t signed an exclusive broadcast deal with Twitch, meaning the door remains open for a YouTube return.

Octane from the Los Angeles Thieves expressed his disagreement on Twitter. 

Co-streams have quickly become a popular way to watch CDL events, especially when they’re hosting co-streams, or watch parties as they’re often called, by the likes of Seth “Scump” Abner or Thomas “ZooMaa” Paparatto become. Former OpTic head coach Raymond “Rambo” Lussier and three-time world champion Damon “Karma” Barlow have also hosted their own watch parties, although the attendance is significantly smaller than for the recently retired stars.

End of watch parties

Currently, the Scump and ZooMaa twitch streams together have more than 65,000 viewers, which together with the English main channel of the CDL makes about 135,000 viewers. When the CDL eventually returns to YouTube, these watch parties will most likely end. But that’s not because the streamers would like CoD Esport less.

In the original broadcast agreement with the CDL, YouTube prohibited all Twitch streamers who are partners from co-streaming the games. Notably, this has led to 100 Thieves owner Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag giving up his Twitch partnership just so he could stream CDL games his team was involved in.

Even if YouTube allowed Twitch co-streams for some reason, the league’s live content, which goes unnoticed by most casual esports and gaming fans, is undoubtedly not helpful for the growth of a league that desperately needs attention. It is a known fact that the CDL also has financial problems, which doesn’t make the situation any better.

Header: Call of Duty League