This week in Chinese esports: Bilibili, China Media Group

As part of our partnership with China Electronic Athletics, we’re bringing you the biggest headlines from the esports industry in China every week. This week in Chinese esports saw Bilibili acquire the Chinese rights to LoL Worlds, Tencent partner with Chinese Media Group, and the Olympics agree on an approach to esports.

Bilibili obtains the exclusive broadcast rights for LoL Worlds in China

Beijing News reported that Bilibili had spent 800 million yuan (£87.2 million) to acquire the exclusive Chinese broadcast rights for the next three League of Legends World Championships. DouYu, Kuaishou, and Huya also bidded for the rights.

China Electronic Athletics says: It’s not easy to judge this price and deal before more details are unveiled. However, it’s evident that this bid is showcasing the value of LoL Worlds to China and the world.

Tencent Esports partners with China Media Group

Tencent signed cooperation memorandum with the International Media Port (Shanghai) Ltd, a subsidiary of China Media Group, to jointly-develop esports tournaments. The partnership includes cooperation in organising esports events, developing and researching esports derivatives, and launching offline events to popularize esports culture. The cooperation also selected Honor of Kings as its first pilot esports title.

China Electronic Athletics says: Shanghai International Media port is the national key laboratory to test UHD videos and audio. As a project in the experiment to test UHD videos and audio, esports has showcased its value to the public and it also means esports may become a necessary part of UHD content in the future.

Olympic Summit agrees on a two-speed approach to cooperate with esports

Xinhua News Agency published an article stating that the Olympic Summit had agreed on a two-speed approach to esports.

The declaration of the 8th Olympic Summit included suggestions from Chair of the Esports and Gaming Liasion Group and UCI President David Lappartient, to promote Olympic sports and values in esports and gaming. It also approved plans to  adopt a two-speed approach to cooperate with esports, which is dividing esports games into the electronic games simulating sports and other electronic games.

China Electronic Athletics says: According to the declaration, Olympic Summit may hope sports simulation games can be managed by current international sports federation – and other games may also need a new international federation to manage. Maybe we are not far from witnessing the establishment of the International Esports Federation.

Contact China Electronic Athletics:
Wechat public account: china_ea
Contact Name: Xiang Shi
Email: [email protected]

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