ESL Co-Streaming
Guidelines 2026
Welcome to the ESL Co-streaming Guidelines. This isn’t just a rule book, it’s a shared vision for the future of ESL. We believe that our co-streamers give our communities the ‘best seat in the house’ to ‘honor the game, the ecosystems, and the best partners in the business’. We know that sustainable growth is shared success. The brand partners that support these broadcasts are what drive the life-changing prize pools, the massive arena experiences, and the world-class production quality that our communities tune in to see. By helping us protect these partnerships, you are actively protecting the ecosystem itself and without you, this would not be possible.
Interested in being an official English co-streamer?
Request permission via: [email protected] with all the necessary details.
For all non-English requests reach out via: [email protected]
- Your Twitch channel link
- Discord ID
- Which event you’re interested in
ESL Co-Stream Guidelines
Shortlinks
1. General Participation & Conduct
- Professionalism: Partners must conduct themselves in a professional manner. Disparaging ESL, its affiliates, or tournament sponsors is prohibited.
- Neutrality: Partners must refrain from personal statements regarding politics, religion, or sensitive regional topics during the broadcast.
- Code of Conduct: Partners are responsible for ensuring proper, active moderation of their chat to prevent obscene, harassing, or abusive language.
2. Technical & Feed Requirements
- Approved Platforms: Costreams are permitted exclusively on Twitch. All other platforms, such as but not limited to: YouTube, TikTok, Facebook….are prohibited without express written exemption.
- Note:If a Youtube channel is approved via exemption then the approved YouTube Channel(s) must be whitelisted and approved for copyright purposes prior to broadcast. ESL is not responsible for any DMCA claims which occur outside of the approval process.
- Mandatory Feeds: Partners MUST use the official English broadcast feeds provided via the ESL Broadcast Distribution Discord Server.
Co-streamers will be required to use the feed directly provided by ESL therefore taking the video feed directly from Twitch.tv/eslcs or any other platform URL is strictly prohibited. - Naming Convention: You MUST add the official Name of the Tournament to your broadcast title (e.g., “IEM Cologne 2026”).
3. Always-On Coverage
Costreamers are approved as parallel distribution hubs. To eliminate audience leakage and maintain narrative integrity, the following segment rules apply:
- Uninterrupted Experience: Your co-stream must be a continuous experience from start to finish of the broadcast. Switching away to other streams, gameplay, or “Just Chatting” while the ESL tournament is live is strictly prohibited. The broadcast consists of:
- Gameplay: Defined as the start of Map 1 until the match concludes.
- Audio: ESL broadcast audio must remain audible at a reasonable volume.
- Visuals: Strict 5% Picture-in-Picture (PIP) limit (see Section 4).
- Interstitials: Includes desk segments, walkouts, and interviews.
- Audio: ESL audio must remain audible.
- Visuals: Overlay mortises may occupy a maximum of 33% of on-screen space,
- Pre/Post-Show: Anything occurring before the countdown clock hits zero or after the final legal lines/trophy ceremony.
- Partners may utilize full-screen takeovers and their own audio during these windows.
4. Visual Specifications & The 5% Webcam Rule
To ensure ESL’s broadcast elements remain unobstructed, the following spatial requirements are mandatory during Gameplay and Interstitials:
- The ~5% Webcam Rule: Your personal webcam must occupy 5% or less of the total on-screen space during gameplay.
- Placement: The webcam overlay must be placed in a way to ensure it does not cover in-game HUDs or ESL’s primary sponsor rotations.
- Digital Overlays:
- Chat Feeds: Must be transparent and occupy <3% of screen space.
- Social Handles: Must occupy <2% of screen space.
- Commercial Overlays: No additional digital visuals or personal sponsor overlays may be added during the full broadcast.
5. Commercial Inheritance & Personal Sponsors
Global Brand Partners are a vital part of ESL’s sponsor delivery. Please acknowledge that the ESL ecosystem would not exist in its current form without these brand partners. Therefore, EFG values your commitment to the following:
- Asset Inheritance: ESL’s sponsorship integrations must remain 100% visible and unaltered throughout the broadcast. You may not hide, cover, or mute:
- Personal Sponsor Restrictions: You may not integrate commercial sponsors into ESL content without prior written approval.
- This includes, but is not limited to sponsor integrations on
- Stream Overlay
- Webcam background
- Twitch Panels
- Chat bot messages
- Social media posts related to the event
- Voice shoutouts
- This includes, but is not limited to sponsor integrations on
- Prohibited Categories: Promoting the following is strictly forbidden:
- Categories reserved by EFG:
- Computer Processors, CPU/GPU/SSD
- Energy Drink, Soft Drinks, Water Supplements
- Logistics
- Betting
- OEM
- Data Providers
- Gaming Platforms
- Chair
- Periphery (Headset, Monitor, etc.)
- Retailers
- Collectibles
- Finance & Crypto Currencies
- Entirely blocked categories:
- 900 numbers
- Account selling/trading
- Hard Alcohol
- Firearms
- Habit-forming drugs
- Hate Speech
- Herbal remedies
- Illegal Substances
- Mail Fraud
- Miracle Drugs
- Political Advertising
- Pornography and other related mature materials and paraphernalia
- Power Levelling
- Pyramid Schemes
- Religion
- Spam
- Tobacco, cigarettes or electronic cigarettes, related paraphernalia
- Skin Gambling/Trading/Marketplaces
- Categories reserved by EFG:
Note: In addition to the categories listed above, broadcasting any content or material that violates Valve’s Intellectual Property rights or the Steam Subscriber Agreement is strictly prohibited.
6. Personnel & Guests
- Individual Rights: Co-streaming rights are reserved strictly for the individual granted permission.
- Co-Hosts: Any guests or co-hosts present for a significant amount of time must be approved by ESL in advance via email.
7. Data & Rights
- Data Sharing: Partners must share all viewership data with EFG upon request at the completion of the event.
- Likeness License: You grant ESL a perpetual, royalty-free license to use your likeness, voice, and excerpts from your Broadcast for marketing and promotional purposes.
8. Termination
ESL reserves the right to terminate access to co-streaming and revoke broadcasting rights in real-time for any violation of these guidelines.
Here is a quick breakdown of how our costreaming partnership is evolving:
What is New?
- The Dedicated Feed:
You will now use a specialized, premium co-streaming feed provided directly by us, ensuring you have the highest quality broadcast without the hassle of screen-grabbing. - The “~5% Rule”:
Your webcam must occupy no more than 5% of the screen during live gameplay to not cover any brand integrations or in-game HUD. - The “Always-On” Commitment:
You are stepping in as an official distribution channel. This means staying with the broadcast through desk segments and interviews, not just the gameplay.
What Stays the Same?
- Your Community, Your Voice:
You still get to broadcast the biggest ESL events directly to your fans, bringing your unique hype, analysis, and personality to the matches. - Pre/Post-Show Freedom:
The windows before the countdown clock hits zero and after the final trophy ceremony are still fully yours for full-screen takeovers, your own audio, and community catch-ups. - Zero Licensing Fees:
We provide the premium production, the feed, and the official status at zero cost to you in a “Value-for-Value” exchange.
What is Going Away?
- Screen-Grabbing Public Feeds:
Capturing the public Twitch/YouTube PGM stream directly is no longer permitted; you must use the official partner feed via our Discord. - Covering the Broadcast:
Placing personal overlays, chat boxes, or webcams over the in-game HUD, sponsor banners, or the analyst desk is no longer allowed. - Personal Sponsors:
Promoting personal sponsors is now strictly prohibited without explicit written approval.
