The decline in viewership is not just limited to the LCS. The European LEC also experienced a worse start to its split

Viewership metrics are one of the main elements of whether there is interest in the leagues. The analytics site Esports Charts has released new data, and it’s not flattering.

We recently published an article where we took a look at the decline in viewership of the US LCS. The decline in interest in the wake of the Riot vs. LCSPA scandal, quite rightly, has bent the cards and fan sentiment.

Esports Charts, a site that tracks viewership and popularity metrics across all esports, has now released a new report. In it, it compares the start of the splits of the three leagues in the LoL ecosystem – the US LCS, the European LEC and the Brazilian CBLOL, which all kicked off last week. However, the published results are not very pleasant for the aforementioned leagues.

LCS

Let’s start with the US LCS, which we’ve already talked about recently. The hard data that tallied the first week of the league clearly showed a significant drop in interest. Despite the increase in airtime due to the league’s postponement, the numbers dropped by over forty percent in the metrics of peak viewership and average viewership.

The site compared this data to that during the spring split and in that context it is a clear drop. The case, which was addressed by the entire esports world and especially the American world, showed in full what the league has been experiencing for a couple of years now. A dysfunctional product that is not attractive to investors, more recently the recent postponement has put more wrinkles on the forehead.

This hard data fully shows the current reality of the league and gives more power to all sorts of speculation about the merger of America’s top competitions. The LCS simply doesn’t work, it doesn’t have the power, and it can be expected that this brand will have to change drastically.

LEC

The other league in the current edition of the measurement is the European LEC. The analysts here also compared the data to the spring split. However, it should be mentioned that the European competition has switched to a new format for the first time this year.

Still, the data shows that the first week of summer in the LEC was weaker than the one in the spring. Still relative to America, it is a slight drop. Yes, there is a sixteen percent drop in the average viewership metric. In so-called peak viewership, the drop is only one percent, which isn’t bad considering the new format.

In general, we can expect the LEC to go up again as the playoffs and regional qualifiers approach. The whole ecosystem in Europe has been doing decently so far after the changes and has maintained a stability that not everyone has maintained after the coronavirus pandemic.

CBLOL

Analysts have chosen Brazil’s top competition as the third league for comparison. The latter is known for having a very strong fan base by its standards. However, after the first week, that confidence was slightly shaken.

The latest data speaks of a fifteen and twenty-seven percent drop in the two main metrics. By the standards of the local league, however, this is still a huge success relative to the American LCS. In fact, the CBLOL as a minor league currently attracts more viewers than the US majors themselves.

In addition, the league may gain new fans as Riot has launched the league’s official English-language broadcast. A league known for its passionate fans can gain momentum and grow solidly for years to come.

Let’s hope that this is just a momentary setback and the league will settle down. However, for the American League, it will most likely be a utopia. For more information regarding this data, you can find it at this link.

Source: Esports Charts, LoL Esports