LEC co-streaming halts 3-year viewership decline

LEC’s viewership has been declining for the past three years, but, looking at the recent data, the situation has changed, mostly thanks to co-streamers.

In 2024, LEC follows the same format as in 2023, with the competition divided into three splits and regional finals afterward. According to a report by Sheep Esports on July 11, while the peak and average audience was still dropping with each split in 2023, this year, it has seen a rise, with a substantial part of today’s viewership consisting of co-streamers.

In 2023, the Winter, Spring, and Summer splits recorded lower viewership than their 2022 counterparts, a trend that started in the 2021 LEC Summer Splits. In 2024, however, each of the three splits has seen higher peak and average viewers. For example, the 2024 LEC Winter Split had 49.6 percent more peak watchers compared to last year’s and 24.3 percent more average ones.

While the stop of LEC’s decline is certainly good news, there’s a catch. According to the report, 54.6 percent of the 2024 LEC Winter Split peak audience was from co-streamers instead of the official broadcasts. Additionally, the data showcased how the peak viewership for LEC’s official channel has been falling since the 2019 LEC Summer Split.

The most notable co-streamers include a former LEC caster, Caedrel, and a Spanish influencer and streamer Ibai, who’s also the owner of MAD Lions KOI. They both made up 48.9 percent audience of the peak 2024 LEC Winter Split broadcast.

Increased viewership in 2024 is a sigh of relief for people behind the LEC. However, it presents another issue regarding the future of the official LEC broadcasts, given they now only attract half of the audience. If any decisions will be made regarding its future, we’d expect them to be revealed by the end of the year when the season will have ended.

LEC isn’t the only League competition that is known to be struggling with viewers as of late. North American LCS has also been in a crisis for a few years now, though, there is hope on the horizon. Its peak audience for the 2024 LCS Spring Split compared to last year’s edition has dropped, but the average viewership has seen growth.

International play, on the other hand, is doing better than ever. Mid-Season Invitational 2024 averaged 1,013,790 viewers and peaked with 2,829,728 watchers, according to Esports Charts. The 2019 edition of the same event, which had a huge following among Western fans due to G2 Esports and Team Liquid’s surprising successes, had more than a million fewer peak viewers and averaged half of 2024’s spectators. Though it’s also likely due to co-streamers, we presume. With another event added in 2025, it’s obvious Riot is keen on expanding upon the much-desired international play.