Riot Games Averaged Nearly 20 Million Global Viewers For LoL Event

Riot Games released an average-minute-audience stat for the November world finals in "League of Legends," the first time it has published that statistic. According to the game publisher, its global average audience was 19.6 million viewers for the Nov. 3 matchup that saw Chinese side Invictus Gaming beat U.K.-based Fnatic. Sponsors and ad buyers have been clamoring for viewership metrics from esports organizations that can be compared to Nielsen's TV ratings. Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League in July published a global average-minute-audience of 861,205 for its two-day finals (Ben Fischer, THE DAILY). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Sarah Needleman notes the "LoL" event drew 99.6 million unique viewers, "up 25% from 80 million a year earlier." It "peaked at 44 million concurrent viewers" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/12).