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Chinese Streamer Huya Scores Blockbuster Esports Deal
Chinese streaming platform Huya has struck an exclusive, five-year live broadcast rights to the League of Legends Pro League (LPL), the top tier esports competition in China.
The deal running from 2021 to 2025 with TJ Sports, China’s League of Legends operator, is worth about US$310 million, according to Huya’s 20-F report, which was filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
In addition to the LPL, the agreement also includes rights to the League of Legends Development League (LDL) and the LPL All-Star Weekend Series. It covers Mandarin-language broadcasts in mainland China and excludes Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
In addition to broadcast rights, Huya will also have video-on-demand rights for a period of three years. The Tencent-backed company’s 20-F report added that Huya will also be able to produce highlights and match replays, as well as news reports and other written content.
The deal expands Huya’s coverage of League of Legends competitions. Last year, the streaming platform acquired rights to the League of Legends North American Championship Series (LCS) and European Series (LES). That deal followed a three-year agreement with Riot Games for rights to all League of Legends Champions Korea matches until 2022.
China has been home to some of the biggest esports media rights deals. Last year, Chinese video-sharing and online gaming platform Bilibili agreed a deal with Riot Games worth a reported US$113 million to secure the rights to all League of Legends global events until 2023.
