Riot Games changes schedule for all four major LoL Esports regions

Riot Games have changed the start times for all four major "League of Legends" esports leagues — the League Championship Series (LCS), the European, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Championship, the League of Legends Pro League (LPL) and League Champions Korea (the LCK)  — as well as the Circuit Brazilian League of Legends (CBLoL), according to an Esports Broadcast Update posted to lolesports.com on Dec. 15.

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The changes

League of Legends esports

• LCS: Thursdays and Fridays at noon PST
• LEC: Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays at 6 p.m. CET
• CBLoL: Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m. BRT
• LPL: Mondays through Fridays at 5 p.m. CST; Saturdays and Sundays at 3 p.m. CST
• LCK: Match 1 at 3 p.m. KST on weekends; Match 2 at 7:30 p.m. KST on weekdays and 5:30 p.m. KST on weekends

Valorant Champions Tour (VCT)

• VCT Americas: Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays at noon PST
• VCT EMEA: Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 6 p.m. CET
• VCT Pacific: Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays at 6 p.m. KST

The reasoning

The LoL Esports staff have changed the schedule in order to have "broadcasts that reduce overlap, schedules that match viewer preferences and new opportunities to explore formats and fresh content."

After reviewing "high level data," they found that fans are "frequently" forced to choose between watching multiple games, and they're aiming to make the experience of watching "League of Legends" esports more "fun and exciting," and less "overwhelming" and inconvenient.

Their choice to change start times were made after "reviewing the viewing behavior of fans across different leagues," and they received external input from fans as well as internal input from broadcasters, regional heads, marketers and other groups that help put on Riot events.

"Going forward, we’re going to continue to listen closely to fans to make sure the changes we are making continue to improve the viewing experience," the team said.

Riot wants to lean away from binge watching — outside of playoffs and other "key moments of the year" — and they want the viewer's choice to be the choice "to watch" instead of "what to watch." The changes are also intended to "explore broadcast formats, increase cross regional storytelling, and make it easier for co-streamers."

The team is interested in hearing feedback on the changes, and hope the moves make it "easier to be a fan."

Some other findings

• Fans follow their favorite game regardless of region
• 9% of NA League of Legends esports fans follow VCT Americas
• Over 50% of LCS fans watch EMEA too
• Most fans' biggest priorities are watching their favorite team and seeing big matches
• 45% of viewers surveyed reported feeling exhausted after a full day of League of Legends esports
• VCT, LCK and LPL viewing behaviors show an appetite for content on weekdays

Featured photo courtesy of Riot Games.