Disney/MLB-owned BAMTech signs $300 million deal to stream League of Legends tournaments

A humongous deal in the world of eSports today as BAMTech, a streaming tech company owned by Major League Baseball and Disney, signed a $300 million deal with Riot Games to stream League of Legends tournaments.

The new deal gives BAMTech the exclusive rights to stream and monetize League of Legends through 2023. The streaming giant plans to launch new League of Legends streaming services, and will handle streaming distribution on existing sites like Twitch and Youtube.

In its official blog, Riot Games calls the deal a “game changer” for eSports:

“This is a game changer for our sport. As we’ve said in the past, true economic sustainability is a critical means to ensuring a sport that lasts, and this represents a major step towards that goal. As an innovator in digital sponsorship and media sales, BAMTech will help us unlock long-lasting and meaningful value for our digital sport as it matures. In BAMTech, we have found a partner equally committed to building professional League of Legends towards the lasting future we believe in for teams, players and fans. We’re honored by their faith and belief in our sport.”

There’s no word yet on whether any of the LoL tournaments will be broadcast on television, although BAMTech is owned by Disney, which owns ESPN.

League of Legends is one of the most popular, and profitable, games out there today. Developer Riot Games brings in about $1 billion in revenues per year thanks to LoL, and was involved in the purchase of Clash of Clans developer Supercell earlier this year.