PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 10: — during 2019 League of Legends World Championship Finals at AccorHotels Arena on November 10, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Michal Konkol/Riot Games)
Photo by Michal Konkol/Riot Games
The Chinese broadcasting right for the next three League of Legends World Championships were up for bid, and in the end it was Bilibili who cut the check. They've gotten exclusive rights in China through the 2022 finals, but it did not come cheap. They reportedly paid $113 million dollars for the rights.
For those of you in North America, don't worry. You won't have to use Bilibili to watch, as the right are only for broadcasting in China. Nevertheless, it speaks to the value that people see in Riot's world finals. For comparison, Twitch paid Blizzard an estimated 90 million dollars for two years of broadcast rights to Overwatch League.
Our thoughts: I'm actually surprised the number wasn't higher. Don't get me wrong, it's an obscene amount of money and a good boon for the future of esports. However, with China having the past two world champions and hosting worlds next year, I'm surprised the bidding didn't go even higher.
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