ESPN’s $500m dollar deal to buy League of Legends TV rights confirmed false

News have been circulating today about a proposed deal that ESPN made to ensure the TV rights for the popular competitive game League of Legends. However, this was proved false now by both ESPN and Riot Games.

They have both confirmed to GamesBeat that they have no deal in the works with one another. The companies previously teamed up to broadcast League of Legends matches on the ESPN3 streaming network, but they are not actively working toward any deal that is worth any amount of money — let alone $500 million.

“The story is false,” reads ESPN’s official statement. “We do not have a deal with Riot Games to broadcast League of Legends.”

Esports is growing tremendously in size and importance, so it’s easy to see why people would believe a story like this. Millions of people tune in for League of Legends matches more than the National Basketball Association’s Finals or Major League Baseball’s World Series. With that kind of viewership, it’s easy to imagine a company like ESPN making a half billion-dollar bet on esports.