Following negative viewership figures registered throughout 2023, the recently concluded League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) Spring Split 2024 saw this trend slightly invert.
According to Esports Charts, the LCS Spring Split 2024 recorded a peak viewership of 246,184 and a total hours watched of more than 10m. While the peak viewership number is lower compared to Spring Split 2023 (271,376), the LCS was able to increase its average viewership (from 109,759 to 120,686), signalling a positive trend for the competition.
This year’s peak viewership, which was recorded during the finals between Team Liquid vs FlyQuest, also beat the number from the 2023 Summer Split (223,943).
LCS’ first split of 2024 registered roughly a 56% increase in average viewership compared to Summer 2023. Peak viewership compared to the same period last year, however, has gone down by more than 25,000.
The LCS came into 2024 in a precarious position. Not only did the competition lose Evil Geniuses and Golden Guardians as the league was cut from 10 to eight teams, but the LCS also lost two legacy brands such as TSM and CLG in 2023. Despite all the challenges, the North American league has managed to somewhat stabilise itself from a viewership standpoint.
This is largely thanks to a much closer competition, with multiple teams fighting for the top spots, as well as the introduction of the live patch matches during the regular split. This decision, which was designed to keep fans interested in the league right from the start, has seemingly paid off with two of the five most-watched series being regular split games. In addition, pushing the matches from weekdays back to weekends was also a major factor in raising the viewership.
That said, the numbers are still quite far away from other major regions. In comparison, the LEC registered a peak of 474,044 viewers in the latest LEC Spring Split. With playoffs still underway, there are chances that the numbers will go up even more. The LCK hit almost 1.2m viewers in the season opener between Gen.G and T1 while also maintaining an average viewership of nearly 290,000.
With the two North American teams preparing for the upcoming Mid-Season Invitational, the LCS is off to a positive start as it hopes to gain even more attention in the second half of 2024.
