Buffalo Wild Wings Cooks up Spicy LCS Deal
Buffalo Wild Wings is serving up some League of Legends Championship Series, locking in a multi-year partnership that will designate the sports bar brand as the Official Sports Bar of Riot’s North American league. The deal also creates the first-ever streaming deal between an esports property and a major restaurant chain to livestream events at scale.
“As esports viewership and participation continues to grow, aligning with the most watched esport in North America is an important step toward giving our guests the best gameday experience possible – across all sports,” said Brandon Gill, Director of Experience and Gaming, Buffalo Wild Wings. “Whether joining us on location or enjoying wings at home, League of Legends and LCS fans now have a go-to sports bar for match day.”
The first event live-stream at participating Buffalo Wild Wings will be the LCS 2020 Summer Playoffs beginning Friday, August 14 at 4p.
“As esports viewership and participation continues to grow, aligning with the most watched esport in North America is an important step toward giving our guests the best gameday experience possible – across all sports,” said Brandon Gill, Director of Experience and Gaming, Buffalo Wild Wings. “Whether joining us on location or enjoying wings at home, League of Legends and LCS fans now have a go-to sports bar for match day.”
As an Official Partner of the LCS and Academy League, Buffalo Wild Wings will have rights to activate the partnership throughout the leagues’ marquee events, including the Spring and Summer Playoffs. Each LCS season is divided into a Spring and Summer Split, where the top finishers from the latter earn a berth in the League of Legends World Championship.
“We are always looking to extend our sport, competitive events and athletes in unique ways and to new audiences,” said Matthew Archambault, Head of NA Partnerships & Business Development, Riot Games. “Buffalo Wild Wings continues to bring fans closer to the excitement and atmosphere of live sports. And, we’re eager to deliver the first sports bar partnership in esports to our fans, especially as things really start to heat up within the LCS.”
Beyond streaming, Buffalo Wild Wings will be able to use official trademarks for the LCS in both on-premise and digital marketing materials and to create unique menu items and customer merchandise. Buffalo Wild Wings and the LCS will also work together on a variety of co-branded initiatives such as promotions and broadcast integrations during LCS events. Livestreams will be administered through the new Buffalo Wild Wings OT network, a proprietary in-bar channel that delivers exclusive content, entertainment and merchandizing to guests at Buffalo Wild Wings across the country.
