After orange and yellow confetti rained down on the Blizzard Arena stage signaling San Francisco Shock’s victory over Vancouver Titans this past weekend, the Overwatch League logged a new viewership record for its 2019 season, according to new Nielsen ratings.
The stage two playoffs week saw a global average minute audience (AMA)—the average number of people watching the broadcast at any minute of the show—of 545,000. The first match of the semifinals and the final match between the Shock and the Titans were broadcast on ABC and set the record for the best performing esports broadcast across the network.
Comparatively, the Overwatch League logged an AMA of 444,000 for its season two opening week and an AMA of 607,000 for its stage one finals across all platforms. The season one grand finals still hold the viewership record since the Overwatch League’s creation with an AMA of 861,000.
Related: San Francisco Shock are the Overwatch League’s stage 2 champions
Over a year ago, Activision Blizzard partnered with Nielsen to track the viewership ratings for the video game company’s numerous titles. Nielsen is known for its television ratings, but the company entered the esports scene in 2017 with the creation of Nielsen Esports to focus on tracking the viewership across competitive gaming.
The Overwatch League will return for its third stage of the season with the match between San Francisco Shock and Atlanta Reign on June 6 at 6pm CT.
