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ESports Streaming Deal Part of Law Firm Practice Aims

By Patrick Smith
November 01, 2020

HUYA, China's largest online video game company, agreed to be purchased by DouYu International Holdings, another livestream gaming company, in what will create an $11 billion gaming giant in the world's largest streaming market. Tencent Holdings, the technology conglomerate that operates messaging services Tencent QQ and WeChat, owns stock in both companies and will end up with 68% of the new entity's voting shares.

It's a deal that provides a potential look into a future where esports, like traditional sports before them, provide a potentially lucrative practice area for firms that want to plant a flag in that plot. "You have an audience of between 500 and 600 million," said Bobby Sharma, special adviser to the sports and entertainment group at Foley & Lardner. "League of Legends has an audience of 80 to 90 million for its World Championship alone, about the same size as the Super Bowl."

The audience is young, as one might guess. According to Sharma, Nielsen Esports Fan Insights tracks that about half of online video game players are in the coveted 18-34 age bracket. And Verizon saw a 75% uptick in game playing at the onset of the pandemic.

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