- Huya buys media rights for League of Legends in China from TJ Sports
- The deal covers both a VOD and broadcasting rights components
- Huya reportedly paid $310 million for the deal
Interest in League of Legends in China remains strong and in this context, Huya buys out the media rights for the game in the country.
Huya Secures Media Rights Partnership for Chinese LoL
China-based streaming giant Huya has signed a record-breaking $310 million deal with Riot Games to secure the media rights for League of Legends esports in China, making it one of the highest price tag that a media rights partnership in the history of the game has fetched.
Huya's partnership was revealed as a part of a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing of a Form 20-F, reading as follows:
“On April 27th, 2021, Guangzhou Huya entered into a License Agreement for Broadcasting League of Legends Matches with Tengjing Sports & Culture Development (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., under which we purchased an exclusive license for e-sports during the period from 2021 to 2025 for a total consideration of RMB2013 million.”
The media rights deal spans two different verticals, VODs for a period of three years and broadcasting rights for the period between 2021 and 2025. Huya bought the rights from TJ Sports, the Chinese joint-venture owned by Riot Games and Tencent.
Moving forward, Huya will be the exclusive media partner for several high-profile competitions including League of Legends Pro League (LPL), League of Legends Development League (LDL) and the All-Star Event for the major event.
Huya is set to tap into various League of Legends intellectual properties to produced tailored social media content and bring it directly to the Chinese League of Legends audiences. The game enjoys a steady viewership base in the country, with the Chinese League of Legends Championship watched by 100 million people in 2019.
