No Twitch or YouTube: Disney+ Stream KeSPA Cup 2025

Disney+ is officially stepping into the competitive gaming arena. Starting this Saturday, December 6, the streaming giant will be the exclusive home for the League of Legends KeSPA Cup 2025 across 11 Asia-Pacific countries, including South Korea, Japan, and Australia. This strategic move shifts the tournament away from traditional free platforms like YouTube and Twitch, offering fans in these regions a centralized hub for high-stakes matches, highlights, and interviews. The event will run through December 14, featuring streams in both Korean and English alongside on-demand replays.

From a business standpoint, this partnership addresses a critical need for Disney+ to capture a younger, more engaged audience. According to WiseApp.Retail, Disney+ ranks fifth in Korea’s streaming market with approximately 1.93 million users, trailing well behind market leader Netflix, which commands a massive 13.41 million users.

Global Heavyweights and a 'Made-for-Streaming' Experience

The tournament itself promises a unique mix of global talent, expanding well beyond domestic competition. Organized by the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA), the event will feature 14 teams, including all 10 organizations from the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK), invited teams from Vietnam and Japan, and North American powerhouses Cloud9 and Team Liquid. 

Notable participants include a Vietnamese roster led by head coach Lê ‘SofM’ Quang Duy and Japanese mid laner Norifumi ‘Recap’ Yamazaki. While the initial group stages will be conducted online, the intense knockout stage is set to take place live at the Sangam SOOP Colosseum in Seoul.

Disney+ plans to differentiate the KeSPA Cup from standard esports streams by incorporating a made-for-streaming production style. Viewers can expect Disney-branded set dressing, themed props on-air, and visual elements that tie the competition into the broader Disney entertainment ecosystem. 

To drive engagement, they are launching ‘watch verification’ initiatives and prediction campaigns where fans can win prizes ranging from subscription vouchers to tickets for the offline stage. Choi Yeon-woo, Head of Local Content at Walt Disney Company Korea, noted that the collaboration aims to go beyond simple viewership to offer users a true "shared experience".

This broadcast initiative stems from a broader contract signed in September between The Walt Disney Company Korea and KeSPA, which extends through December 2026. The agreement goes beyond just the KeSPA Cup and grants Disney+ exclusive rights to content surrounding the South Korean national team as they prepare for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan. 

Subscribers can expect to see warm-up games, send-off ceremonies, friendlies, and original content documenting the national squad’s journey, signaling that Disney+ is serious about integrating esports into its core entertainment portfolio for the foreseeable future.