League of Legends World Championships to Air on BBC Three

The BBC has announced it will provide live coverage of the League of Legends World Championship quarter finals, starting from October 15.

Coverage of the event, which is being held in Wembley Arena in London, is being delivered as part of a partnership between BBC Three and BBC Sport, who will be utilising the broadcasting network's events coverage platforms. This has previously been used for coverage of Glastonbury and live sporting events, and includes "live video, pre-recorded video, text, audio, and social commentary."

"We jumped at the chance to collaborate with BBC Sport and bring this massive UK event to a wider audience," said Damian Kavanagh, controller of BBC Three. "BBC Three will always experiment with new ways to deliver content that young people want, in ways they want. I think this is an exciting way to cover something millions of young Brits love, in a BBC Three way."

League of Legends commentator Leigh ‘Deman’ Smith added: "I'm delighted to be part of the BBC's coverage at Wembley Arena. Worlds has been amazing so far and it's great to see the BBC getting involved and raising awareness of esports in the UK."

Coverage of esports events such as the League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike finals has started to pervade mainstream media. Thus far, American media networks have been more active in the move towards competitive gaming coverage.

Most notable of these networks is ESPN, which has broadcasted matches from Dota 2's The International and aired two hours of Heroes of the Storm on ESPN 2. It is also hiring a gaming editor and an esports editor.

On October 1, the League of Legends World Championship attracted close to one million concurrent viewers on Twitch. While other streaming platforms including YouTube, Douyu, and Longzhu are believed to have reached eight million viewers.