SK Telecom Sign Deal with LCK and Riot Games Korea

SK Telecom is one of the leading providers in telecommunications technology in Korea. For League of Legends fans, they’re also principal owners of one of the most dominant competitive teams in the game’s history. In a press release by SK Telecom, the company announced that they have signed an exclusive broadcasting agreement with Riot Games Korea. 

On the stage, Faker and his revolving SKT squad have won three League of Legends World Championships. Even though they’ve been on a bit of a slump of late with Faker apparently off his game, they continue to be in the conversation about the World’s most dangerous League of Legends competitors. 

Up until this point SK Telecom seemed happy to simply be the logo and name on the chest of the most feared team in International LoL. As a telecommunications company, and a world leader in 5G technology, there had to be more apple in this League of Legends basket, right? 

Thanks to this new deal, Oksusu (one of SK Telecom’s flagship products) will broadcast League Championship Korea (LCK) matches for the remainder of the 2019 season. Serving as the "official sponsor of the LCK" until 2020, it's uncertain whether or not SKT will retain or renegotiate broadcasting rights for the 2020 season and beyond. 

SK Telecom also unveiled that they will be looking to implement Artificial Reality and Virtual Reality into their production deal with the LCK in an “exclusive deal”. They plan to bring VR fan meets as well as full match broadcasting as soon as the 2019 Summer Split. “By wearing a VR headset, ‘oksusu’ viewers will gain an immersive experience, feeling as if they are watching the matches at the stadium instead of their homes.” reads the Press Release from SKT. 

“SK Telecom will realize a new level of customer experience by combining its 5G-based immersive media technologies with LoL, one of the most popular games in the world.” said Ryu Young-Sang, Executive Vice President and Head of MNO Business of SK Telecom in their release today. 

The SKT and Oksusu broadcasting deal with Riot will take off right away, starting this weekend with the 2019 LCK Spring Finals on April 13th. 

Earlier in the year, Riot Games Korea had expressed interest in being the sole broadcaster of the League Championship Korea circuit, though we don’t suppose some financial and name power will take away from that plan in the long run. 

"It's a great pleasure to announce that Riot Games Korea and SK Telecom were able to reach this contract,” said Jaysen Park, Country Manager of Riot Games Korea. “Riot Games will continue our efforts to build a better LCK moving forward based on this partnership."

As the industry of Esports continues to evolve in small circles and on large scales, it’s always exciting when talented and experienced companies partner up for something greater. League of Legends has the highest viewer ratings of any Esport, so it seems like a great place to invest more resources for SKT. 

We firmly believe that the addition of AR/VR and 5G technology into the viewer experience of the LCK will change the way the game is viewed worldwide in due time.

The LCK 2019 Spring Split Grand Finals will take place this Saturday, April 13th, at 1:00 AM Pacific Time.