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- Team Griffin, a Korean organization owned by STILL8, has partnered with HUYA to stream its content in China.
- Team Liquid recently signed a similar deal with HUYA, and STILL8 previously signed with rival Chinese platform Douyu for teams such as Gen.G and SKT T1.
- Chinese live streaming restrictions make it difficult for outside organizations to reach fans, leading to the recent trend of partnerships with Chinese streaming platforms.
Korean organization Team Griffin , owned by STILL8 , has signed a deal with Chinese livestreaming platform HUYA to broadcast its streams in the country.
Team Griffin competes in the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) league, and will begin streaming on HUYA on July 8. STILL8 previously signed similar deals with rival Chinese streaming platform Douyu for Korean teams Gen.G Esports , SK Telecom T1 , KT Rolster, DAMWON Gaming, and Jin Air Green Wings. STILL8 manages the IPs of those teams, among others.
“Chinese viewership takes up to 80% of the whole viewership. That being so, Chinese fans are curious and interested in the LCK,” said STILL8 CEO Seo Kyung-jong, in a release. “We will try our best to show LCK’s own story and brand to Chinese esports fans. We will try our best to think of various content so that the Korean esports fandom can spread across the world.”
In addition to its League of Legends squad, Team Griffin also has teams that compete in Overwatch , Fortnite , and PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG).
Related Article: STILL8 CEO Wants to Globalize Team Griffin and Korean Esports
In June, Team Liquid signed a deal with HUYA to broadcast player streams from North America and Europe, with real-time translation in some cases. Chinese live streaming regulations make it difficult for fans to access streams from other countries, leading organizations such as Team Liquid and Team Griffin to seek local partners to enter the space.
HUYA is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and claims a monthly average user base of 123.8M, including 5.4M paying subscribers. The company also owns the Overwatch League’s Chengdu Hunters .