Huya , a Chinese live streaming platform, has signed an exclusive domestic media rights agreement for League of Legends on 2,013 million yuan (223.88 million pounds).
The five-year agreement with TJ Sports, the Tencent-Riot Games joint venture that operates League of Legends in China, includes the League of Legends Pro League (LPL), League of Legends Development League (LDL), and All-Star LPL tournaments.
"It's very important," he said Tom Daniels , editor Esports Insider , in the latest ESI digest. “This is a massive media rights deal and we see a lot more media rights deals in esports as well.”
He added: "Now it's really interesting to see that Billy Billy has exclusive rights to global competitions, but now Huya has the China National League under its own platform. We are really starting to see platforms, especially live streaming platforms in China, vying for these media rights deals.”
Meanwhile, the launch of the Esports Certification Institute (ECI) by former Dignitas Chief of Staff Ryan Friedman and former Houston Rockets Park Vice President Sebastian has been criticized by the esports community.
Since then, the ECI has suspended registration, refunds those who paid for an exam or study guide, and announced plans to revise the initiative, which consisted of 120 multiple-choice questions and one essay.
Daniels commented: “I think the problem was, in my opinion, that it wasn't completely sold correctly. There was no idea who it was actually aimed at. It didn't really narrow down what this certification would be for."
However, the intent was "pure" due to the fact that the ECI advisory board includes "many famous and respected figures throughout the esports community".
Meanwhile ESL Gaming has renewed its partnership with North American technology developer Intel, celebrating 20 years of partnership. The agreement includes a commitment to invest more than $100 million in esports to develop "product innovations" for fans and players alike.
Staying in the USA NRG Esports announced a partnership with insurance company The General, as a result which its Rocket League team will be renamed The General NRG and will be equipped with branded jerseys.
Finally, on the other side of the Atlantic Semper Fotix Esports raised £2.55 million on its first day of operation, bringing the total market capitalization to around £4.15 million.
Source - Esports Insider channel on YouTube
ESI Digest post: Huya secures 'extremely important' deal with China's League of Legends first appeared on GamblingTV.com.