Dota 2 Asia Championship: Streaming Sites Clash Over Broadcast Rights
The Dota 2 Asia Championship has kept Dota fans on edge with recent high-profile roster changes. Now, Chinese streaming sites Huomao TV and Douyu TV are in a heated battle over the right to broadcast the tournament. Huomao claims that Douyu is stealing from the company by streaming the tournament without permission and spreading false rumors of an agreement.
This situation is similar to what happened to Evil Geniuses, a Call of Duty team, in 2014. Major League Gaming penalized Evil Geniuses for streaming official MLG tournaments on Twitch instead of their own platform. Huomao has threatened legal action against Douyu if they continue the unauthorized broadcasts.
However, these penalties are not severe considering the value of streaming viewership in esports. The popularity of Twitch, for example, began to rival major cable networks in July. Chinese streamers have even larger audiences, with some reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers.
The Dota 2 Asia Championship is a lucrative opportunity for those hosting it, with potential for significant ad revenue. Huomao and Douyu also have Youku Tudou as a competitor, which has released its own hardware and cloud entertainment service to optimize their streaming capabilities.
As the tournament approaches its finals in Shanghai, it remains uncertain how this dispute will be resolved. Both streaming sites are unlikely to back down from the opportunity to gain major ad revenue.
H/T Kotaku
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