HUYA garners three-year exclusive broadcast rights to LCK in China

GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- With the 2019 League of Legends World Championship in full swing and the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) attracting much attention, many Chinese fans are wondering where they will be able to watch the high-level competitions? On October 22, Chinese live streaming platform HUYA signed a three-year agreement with Riot Games China in Guangzhou. Under the agreement, HUYA gained the exclusive right to broadcast the LCK in China and to represent the LCK in all potential partnerships negotiations for the league's Chinese streams during 2020-2022. The agreement was signed by Gao Hongliang, HUYA Vice President and Zhou Jie from Riot Games China.

The three-year exclusive deal gives HUYA's program portfolio a major boost

The agreement brings HUYA and Riot Games China into an unprecedented level of collaboration with the LCK copyright, ushering in an across-the-board upgrade in terms of content, technology and identity. At the content level, HUYA will continue to organize streamers and influencers who will actively participate in the official events and deepen the partnerships with official programs. In terms of the viewing experience for fans, Huya will vastly upgrade the technology to a level whereby fans will be treated to high definition live streaming quality akin to watching a Blue-ray disk. At the same time, HUYA signed a partnership agreement with Team Griffin, achieving the change in identity from simply a holder of a broadcast license to true involvement in the LCK business, and, as a result, a partner of the LCK with a stronger voice. 

The LCK is the top-level LOL e-sports league in South Korea and one of the world's leading game competitions. The LCK took home five championships out of eight from the League of Legends World Championship. Traditional teams such as SKT, KT, KZ, GEN (formerly SSG) are still very active, however newcomers such as GRF and DWG have been gradually moving into a position of dominance. With the support of a highly perfected league and management system, the LCK has recently gone through several stages of development, with, as a reward, continued growth in traffic numbers alongside increasing attention from China. The battle between GRF and SKT attracted millions of viewers online simultaneously.

As of the end of 2018, HUYA was working with more than 140 e-sports organizations in hosting or broadcasting some 760 e-sports completions, including the LOL finals, the LCK, LPL, NEST, LMS/MSI, LOL Rift Rivals, and the Destiny Cup. In addition, it is the only live streaming platform that holds the Chinese license for the copyright of five major LOL leagues, including LPL, LCK, LCS (NA), LCS (EU) and LMS. By providing top-level e-sports content to fans and an experience that cannot be had elsewhere, the platform has raised the barrier to entry for e-sports copyrights and driven the game live streaming industry to undertake more professional and quality development. By doing so, HUYA has vastly expanded the commercial possibilities available to the industry. 

HUYA and Riot Games China exchange gifts in celebration of a new and exciting level of collaboration

At the press conference, HUYA Vice President Gao Hongliang said he was very happy to be deepening the strategic cooperation with Riot Games China around LCK events and expects to be providing more high-quality e-sports content to fans and vendors. He said "many people used to ask me, where can I watch the LCK? Now I can answer you, right here, with HUYA. Providing better services for fans and vendors will be the direction of our continuing efforts."

Zhou Jie from Riot Games China extended his thanks to HUYA for its continued investment in various LOL events and added:" Today, we are pleased to have reached this exclusive three-year agreement with HUYA, in fact, it is our first long-term partnership for the LCK event. Together with HUYA, we will present the best live streaming experience to LOL fans."

After the signing ceremony, Riot Games China gave HUYA a custom trophy, the body of which contains a message about the three-year partnership alongside the two sides' joint logos. In return, HUYA gifted an elaborate commemorative medal, which also includes the joint logos, heralding a bright future for the cooperation.

As a leading live streaming platform in China, HUYA will continue to work with top vendors and act as an industry innovator, with the goal of providing fans with a new experience when it comes to the world's top events while leading the industry into a new era of game live streaming with best-in-quality content production capabilities.  

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1021496/HUYA.jpg