Disney+ Deepens KeSPA Tie-Up Ahead of 2026 Asian Games

Disney+ has broadened its media partnership with the Korea eSports Association (KeSPA), and joined as the official broadcast partner for Esports Championships Asia Jinju 2026. The expanded agreement following Disney+’s KeSPA Cup broadcast, covers an expanded slate of Korean and pan-Asian competitive gaming events for the streamer's global subscriber base.

The deal begins with Disney+ globally livestreaming Esports Championships Asia Jinju, a three-day tournament at Jinju Indoor Gymnasium (April 24-26), South Korea. Disney+ will also run ESPN branding across the broadcast.

The Jinju event will feature national teams from seven Asian countries: Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Korea, China, Mongolia, and Japan. Teams will be pitted against each other across various esports titles, including Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8, Eternal Return, Konami's eFootball series, and PUBG Mobile.

Disney+ will exclusively livestream the Korean national team's official send-off ceremony and evaluation matches ahead of the Asian Games, as well as the 2026 LoL KeSPA Cup later this year. Disney+’s KeSPA partnership aims to “promote the value of Korean esports globally and contribute to the growth of the industry,” according to The Walt Disney Company Korea head Kim So-yeon.

KeSPA president Kim Young-man echoed a similar sentiment, while highlighting that the partnership expansion reflects the rising value of Korean esports content and creates a channel to “share these achievements with fans around the world.”

Disney+ Tests Live Esports Programming with KeSPA Deal

With the extended KeSPA partnership, Disney+ intends to test esports as a scalable content vertical rather than a niche add-on. Esports attracts a younger, highly engaged audience, often recording millions of livestream views; however, it is frequently underserved by traditional TV broadcasts.

The current arrangement stems from a contract signed in September 2025 between Walt Disney Company Korea and KeSPA to broadcast the KeSPA Cup 2025 and related content for the 2026 Asian Games. The expanded KeSPA agreement is also part of Disney+ ‘s strategy to secure select live sports rights across Asia-Pacific, following the 2025 launch of ESPN on Disney+.

Netflix has been aggressively pursuing a similar approach to grow its footprint in Asia's streaming markets, most recently with its exclusive live broadcast of BTS’ comeback concert.

South Korea has already established itself as a prominent market within the global esports landscape. The country's esports events, such as LCK and KeSPA Cup, are also significant in driving an audience, with teams like T1 and Gen.G playing. By capturing esports in one of its most mature markets, Disney+ is effectively testing whether the platform can convert tournament viewers into sustained subscribers and the commercial logic behind broadcasting esports across the global market.

Disclaimer: Some information in the article were machine translated.