The live sports production company, Whisper has developed a new partnership with the leading video game maker, Electronic Arts (EA) Sports.
This new association has been inked to provide event and broadcast services for EA Sports FC Pro tournaments played exclusively on EA SPORTS FC. In its first significant esports collaboration, the production business will oversee audience and player interactions, set and lighting design, event presentation (including locating locations), show development, live OB, and post-production.
The FC Pro Open Qualifiers, which will be held in London from November 10–12, will be the first tournament presented. 64 participants will compete in order to advance to the next round. The FC Pro Open, a weekly live broadcast programme that begins on November 27 and features players competing weekly for one of eight berths for the FC Pro Open Final in February 2024 (the top four advance to the FC Pro Open World Championships), will also be covered by Whisper.
Additionally, Whisper will also host the eChampions League, a multi-phase competition series that is scheduled to take place in May 2024 and include the finest players in Europe.
Emma Sheldon, head of production, Pete Thomas, head of sports at Whisper, editorial lead, Kerry Boyd, live producer, Cherrelle Redley-Murrain, line producer, and director will all be involved in the account.
Geoff Riding, Chief Commercial Officer for Whisper, said, “This partnership marks an exciting step into esports for all at Whisper and we will lean into our approach that Entertainment Is Everything. Our aim is to feed the core EA Sports FC fanbase with our EA Sports FC Pro Open shows, with clarity in production and a focus on gameplay and also to hook the casual fan, with a next level Pro Cup final, including a live audience, live music, and creative staging that fuses incredible gameplay with pure spectacle. We’re loving working with EA and can’t wait for the first event.”