The LCS, Riot Games’ North American League of Legends series, has announced a new start time for its broadcast following community feedback.
Through a post on Twitter, the LCS confirmed that the broadcast schedule will shift forward two hours to start at 2pm PT/5pm ET on Thursdays and Fridays.
Fans of the series were pushing for a change in time, with their suggestions eventually being picked up by League of Legends’ esports heads. The Global Head of LoL Esports, Naz Aletaha, stated she hopes that the new start times fit the lifestyle and needs of the game’s North American fans, which are the target audience of the broadcasts.
“The original noon start time was intended to maximise the available audience for the LCS for the English-speaking community. Again, when we saw how fans were feeling about it, we wanted to make sure we were accommodating North American fans first and foremost,” Aletaha explained in an interview with Travis Gafford.
The initial changes to the LCS broadcasts were first announced in December, with Riot Games aiming to create schedules that ‘match viewer preferences’ and provide new opportunities to create ‘fresh content’ over the course of 2023. Similar changes were also made to the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) for its Americas, EMEA, and Pacific circuits.
In addition, the publisher unveiled significant LoL format changes to its Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) and season-ending World Championship. For example, MSI will see the introduction of double elimination and Worlds 2023 will feature a Swiss Stage format.
For Worlds 2023, the tournament will return to South Korea for the first time in five years. On the other hand, 2023’s MSI will take place in London following reports emerging in December.
