In light of allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination currently tainting Activision-Blizzard, many major sponsors of theOverwatch League and Call of Duty League seem to have decided to withdraw their support until further notice.
T-Mobile, Coca-Cola and State Farm, among others, have indeed decided to disassociate themselves from the two major esports leagues of the two iconic FPS franchises from Activision-Blizzard. This inevitably means on the one hand heavy financial losses, and on the other hand great difficulties in finding new sponsors, as long as the business concerning the company will not have been cleared up.
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The network no longer passes between T-Mobile and Activision-Blizzard
The first historic sponsor to suddenly withdraw its support from the two Activision-Blizzard esports leagues was T-Mobile earlier this week. As a reminder, it is an American subsidiary of the German communications company Deutsche Telekom AG, and one of the major providers of Internet access and recently 5G in the United States.
A company that had sponsored the Overwatch League and the Call of Duty League since their inception, based on advertising support and contests during the broadcasts. For a few days, when you go to the official sites of the two leagues, you can see that the T-Mobile logo has been removed from the list of sponsors.
Stranger still, some professional Overwatch and Call of Duty players wearing jerseys emblazoned with the T-Mobile logo had to cover it with tape, so it wouldn't be visible to the cameras. While no official announcement as to the reason behind these sudden changes has been made by interested parties, it would be hard to believe a mere coincidence given recent events within Activision-Blizzard.
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Coca-Cola, State Farm and others were quick to follow
After this first blow to the Activision-Blizzard e-sports leagues, Coca-Cola and Kellogg's, who need no introduction, as well as State Farm, an American insurance company, soon followed suit. These sponsors have thus urged Activision-Blizzard to no longer display advertisements from them during the games of the week.
A State Farm representative said the company "is re-evaluating its relationship with the Overwatch League." Similarly, a Coca-Cola representative told The Washington Post, "We are working with our partners at Blizzard as we take a step back for now to review our future plans and programs." He further clarified that Coca-Cola was aware of the recent allegations against Activision-Blizzard, but declined to confirm whether or not the company would return as a sponsor in the future.
While the Overwatch League and Call of Duty League still have a few sponsors, it's only a matter of time before they decide to jump on the bandwagon as well. A situation that will not improve until the State of California has rendered its verdict on the allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination within Activision-Blizzard, or until the society does not drastically change its mentality. A process that unfortunately does not seem to be happening anytime soon.
Sources : Charlie Intel, Washington Post
