BBC Three has announced plans to stream the League of Legends world quarter finals next Thursday, a first for a UK broadcaster.
Radio 1 DJ Dev Griffin and journalist/Ginx TV presenter Julia Hardy will front the coverage, with commentary from established casters Leigh ‘Deman’ Smith and James ‘Stress’ O’Leary. BBC Three controller Damian Kavanagh was quick to establish the competition's legitimacy as a sport.
We jumped at the chance to collaborate with BBC Sport and bring this massive UK event to a wider audience... I think this is an exciting way to cover something millions of young Brits love, in a BBC Three way.
The event will utilise the same streaming platform developed for the World Cup and live music events, combining multiple video and commentary sources with social media streams. It also means that UK viewers will need a TV license to watch the event legally, a less welcome first for the finals.
With BBC Three moving to online-only next year, this looks set to be an interesting test run. Consultations are ongoing, and success or failure here could have an impact on the channel's future.