I see you guys complaining about viewership and u guys wanna know why?
ITs because NA isn't playing rn
The problem is that if Tarik for whatever reason doesnt costream a tournament, then his 50-60k viewers dont all go to the main stream. maybe only like 20k. Thats cuz people either rely on him to costream in order to be entertained by the tournament or like tarik's personality but doesnt care enough about the game
Yep. Watch parties only mask VALORANT's problem with production, talent and presentation. Think about what would happen if Riot decided to stop the watch parties. Would all the people who view a watch party switch to viewing the main stream? Probably not, because a large portion of them wouldn't be interested anymore. Therein lies the long-term problem. The game isn't entertaining enough on the main stream to attract viewers, so Riot needs to co-op with popular streamers to increase viewership. You don't see major sports doing this, because their broadcast rights are monopolized by large, reliable corporations who have invested in entertaining, informative broadcasts fit for all audiences (ex. NBA on TNT). Riot has the resources to go the same way, and they probably will once franchising is in place.