Bilibili reportedly signs Overwatch League production deal

Bilibili Esports has reportedly signed a production deal with Activision Blizzard for the Overwatch League in China.

As per a report from Pandaily, Bilibili Esports has replaced Banana Culture as the Chinese production partner of the league. It will also reportedly co-host Overwatch Contenders 2020.

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Bilibili started in 2009 as a content community platform focused on anime, comics, and games. With the rapid growth of its user base, the company decided to widen its reach through music, fashion, movie, and science.

In 2017, it acquired the League of Legends roster of I May. Its next venture in esports was the formation of Hangzhou Spark, an Overwatch League expansion franchise.

RELATED: Bilibili reportedly acquires Chinese broadcast rights for LoL Worlds

Bilibili recently launched its bi-weekly Overwatch tournament, named the Shadow Cup, that will run after Overwatch Contenders China. Four teams will be directly invited to participate in the tournament.

Though unconfirmed still at the time of writing, it was reported in December that Bilibili had acquired the Chinese broadcast rights to the League of Legends World Championship. The deal, if true, cost 800 million yuan (£87.2 million) and will run for three years.

Esports Insider says: Bilibili Esports is regarded as one of the fastest-growing companies in China and, with its pre-existing relationship with Activision Blizzard, this move wouldn’t be a huge surprise if it proves to be true.

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