E-SportsPN: League of Legends to ESPN for $500 million? (UPDATE 6 PM: ESPN says no.)

Knew this day was coming, just was wondering when it might happen and under what circumstances...

Almost ironic that, two weeks after the largest sanctions ever thrown against an ownership group in the history of League of Legends (and sanctions from which the sport has not yet recovered - one LCS spot lays vacant a scant 12 days from the start of the summer season), PvP Live, an e-sports news website, reports that ESPN is preparing a bid for $500 million to broadcast League of Legends matches.

This almost certainly would include the World Championships and the North American LCS, but the unnamed sources do not indicate whether Europe (or maybe even Korea) might be involved.  Nor do they mention the current platforms Riot Games uses and how they would be affected (my guess is they would move to strictly Challenger and lesser-league programming).

I have two thoughts:

First, I always thought the avenue they would go, especially given the harder and harder stance some video game companies have taken against content, would be to plop a billion and a half or so down to Amazon to buy out Twitch and squeeze out the low- and mid-level streamers entirely.

Second, after the May 8 expulsions of three ownership groups (and a larger look at the situation for the summer split), it is clear that, by the end of this World Championship series, there will have to be MAJOR alterations (people at Riot are going to get fired, and major changes to the ownership rules are going to have to be made).

As of the expulsions, there are 14 spots in professional League of Legends going to teams which would be returning from the spring split.  Of those 14, FIVE will feature new management (this does NOT count the team promoted from Challenger to LCS -- that team has correctly won promotion):

• the demoted Dignitas team sold their Challenger slot to Team Apex
• Disqualified Renegades sold their LCS slot to Team Envy
• Disqualified Dragon Knights sold their LCS slot to a co-owner of VexX Gaming
• Disqualified Team Impulse, 4 1/2 days after the deadline and only 12 days before whatever succeeds them plays in the North American LCS, has no confirmed owner
• LATE UPDATE:  6 PM 5/23:  According to the schedule, the slot has finally sold, maybe.  A team named Phoenix1 will be the tenth team in the North American LCS.  According to SB Nation's Rift Herald, as of this update, there is no word as to exactly who has purchased the team.  It is POSSIBLE, and I will look at it, that Riot will run the team themselves until someone buys the slot.
• Team Ember disbanded after the spring split, looking to sell their Challenger slot, no owner.

Riot Games is going to have to buy out all of the owners at the LCS and Challenger levels and take full ownership of the actual franchise slots.  The current situation is not healthy, not good for e-sports, and invites shysters and con artists like Chris Badawi to involve themselves.

One hopes that, should this report be true, this is one of the first things done with the $500 million.


LATE UPDATE #2:  Riot and ESPN both deny the report.  Take that with a grain of salt.