theres no short term solution tbh. riot quite literally killed most of storylines and rivalries before they could develop with time, which is what brings viewership (like loud vs optic). doesnt help that they limit trashtalk on stage. now we just have to wait for it to develop on current enviromment, but its harder because its much more "plastified"
Free rider problem.
Just imagine a group project where the outcome is viewership and bundle sales, 5 members, a and b are doing great, the rest are shit. But the a and b are doing well enough that teacher don't give a shit. This misled the rest into thinking there is no need to improve.
This is the case with franchising every region.
Tbh we can even say EMEA, PACIFIC and AMERICAS are just free riding off of CHINA.
Yes and no. It depends on what Riot is trying to do. If they are trying to promote their game in the most places, what they are doing now is one of the better ways. If they are trying to bring about a better esport, stop forcing 6 teams in a region that has 2 good candidates.
My guess is the former, they DO NOT care if the esport is any good, they only care that its an effective marketing/branding tool. Yes, those are not always but can be mutually exclusive.
Are you blaming the system of franchising itself for those problems and suggesting that getting rid of it completely is the better option (which in the first place I'm not sure how those problems stem from the franchising itself) or are you just pointing out so-called problems IN the franchise system and the fact that they need solutions? the connotation of your statement was a bit ambiguous to me so I'd appreciate it if you'd clarify.
The essence of franchising is to reduce and control costs. More teams and more games = more costs, which grow faster than the growth of active players, who are a finite number.
So Riot reduces the number of matches, deemphasizes regional leagues, and puts the spotlight on the big events, which is why we have a stupid league that doesn't play a single round robin all year.
Viewership? If you have enough viewership for international matches, it doesn't matter, as long as you can create some big moments, some stories, some stars, and some cool tiktok clip craps at the biggest events.
What Riot cares about is cost-effectiveness, not the absolute growth of the sport. Faria likely told it like it is when he talked about rethinking franchising. He said Riot chose to franchise because the open circuit was too costly. and they wanted to give it a little more of a chance because the gap between tier 1 and tier 2 was so much wider than they expected. That's it.
To sustain those viewerships you need regional franchise , those numbers aren't just going to magically appear out of nowhere. If riot cares so much about cost then riot wouldn't even consider letting global esports as a franchise partner. Hell, there wouldn't even be 10 main partners on every region. The fact that riot doesn't reduce the number of regional franchise teams means it's not entirely about cost
Long term gain trumps over short term gain.
So Riot considered a 4+ LCK org during the franchise planning phase, and it was canceled due to backlash from other countries and some “disqualifying reasons”.
Regional distribution is like a lottery: even if there is only one team in your region, people cheer for them anyway. If you have 2 teams, it's 2x that, if you have 50, it's 50x that? No.
If you scratch your ticket and win, it will be good for Riot. But if you get blank forever, Riot won't care. That's ancillary income.
All good things come to international events.
It's ok Long term gain trumps over short term gain. But long term means 'small enough' and sustainable. They want you alive, but they don't really care if you're healthy or crippled.
It's rather interesting that Mr.IonlywatchvcjXD discusses PR risk. How much do you care about the drama and stories in other regions?
If you shine on the biggest stage, people will praise you for the path you've taken.
They'll act like they've always known.
And this game doesn't have an infinite lifespan, and Riot knows that. Riot doesn't own any real estate outside of LA. It's all leased.
The 'minimal care' is already happening.
The bottom teams play only 12 fucking games a year, does that make sense?
Look at the structure of stages 1 and 2. In 2025, you don't even have to play a single match against every team in the league to be the regional champion!
They already treat their franchise sub-teams as worthless garbage. Now they want to cut those team's own reason to exist.
I'm not talking about Riot's direction, I'm talking about what's already happened.
It is no wonder that Mr Biostar here thinks this way, you only think viewerships can easily swings with dramas and other shit like that.
When I said PR risk I'm talking about Riot. I'm sure you've heard about segmentation. Since you and riot care so much about those oh-so-precious international games I will fucking spell things out for you:
No matter the language , region etc, there are 2 types of viewers, international-regional viewers and international only viewers. And both have the same sub-segments , just start your way from the earliest game all the way to grand finals i.e; first stage watchers+ quarters only + semis only + grand finals only. Regional watchers is still a huge chunk of international viewers.
The same applies for international only viewers.
International viewers = international only + international-regional viewers.
Now remove one from the equation ( more importantly regional ones) and you get a disaster. And how to make sure that one does not remove themselves ? By not making them upset. How do you not make them upset ? Stop tampering with the region.
Riot can get away with tampering with T2 since barring few regions no one watches those anyways but what you shouldn't do is to anger your most loyal fanbase. This is what I meant with PR issue.
Or do I have to enlighten you what will happen when riot loses a huge portion of their international viewers?
You're all pissed off. So what has Riot actually done with Tier 2? Nothing. They're just leaving it alone. They even said they're giving it another chance.
I didn't say anything about your tiny little dicky vcj. I have no interest in your parroting.
You said this thread was about franchising. So when I said “regional” I meant all tier 1 pacific only. Look at my first comment. I said Riot is reducing the number of franchises purely for the sake of tier 2. I didn't discuss whether or not that actually helps them.
As for “regional distribution”, I'm talking about having more than one T1 team per region, not some kind of VCL diversity, please.
I kept stating the argument that Riot doesn't really care about the lower tier 1 teams. it's not a good thing, but they're going to keep doing it.
that it's because they're not contributing to international cinema, not because they're just fanless shit orgs.
This happens every time I have an argument with you about tier 1. Why are you mad at me for tier 2 shit? If you want to call me names, just say what's on your mind.
How tf am I mad at you talking about Tier 2 shit? We're talking about Tier 1 all the goddamn time. Now I'm "all pissed off" because you're accusing me of talking about something I didn't even try to talk about.
Riot can get away with tampering with T2 since barring few regions no one watches those anyways but what you shouldn't do is to anger your most loyal fanbase. This is what I meant with PR issue.
I literally said this. Do you even understand what it means??
I kept stating the argument that Riot doesn't really care about the lower tier 1 teams. it's not a good thing, but they're going to keep doing it.
At least we have something to agree on.
I suggest you reread my whole post
You should go back to school since your English is so horrible.
Here, some fucking clarity to mr illiterate
Regional = AMERICAS , CHINA , PACIFIC , EMEA
International = masters and champions
Okay, I read it again, and I apologize for the rambling. I'm writing this at 3am while feverishly typing on my VLR with influenza, so my intelligence is at monkey level. I admit it.
Riot thinks of this business from the top down. Bundles for 2024 T1, a team that couldn't have been more of an asshole, a team that no one watched because it was too painful to watch, sold more than Zeta, simply because fakers exist. The difference in Korean viewership between the 2024 Shanghai finals and the 2025 Bangkok finals was more than 2x. viewerships can easily swings with dramas and other shit. Locally, yes.
but historical viewership ranking is madrid, champs 2022, lock//in, champs 2024, Bangkok, and it's not consistent and doesn't grow much.
Think about the tampering that has been done to the league in the meantime. Every year has been a mess, but overall, the scene hasn't gotten worse or better before or after the franchise. It's the #2 FPS and #3 overall esport, and has reached its growth ceiling.
So Riot is going to get more hands on and cut what they don't need, which is why I say cutting, not growth, is the priority. They don't care about regional viewers, they'll cut off a limb, and it won't matter for a long time, that's all. but it will be no a huge portion of the audience is going to disappear no matter what.
Of course, the fanless organizations will be cut first, but not necessarily because they are free riders. Faria will sincerely believe that they are for tier 2.
The reason is because tenz retired.
Yay and demon1 are now mid.
ardiss unemployed.
Laz is now playing with vtubers.
EMEA doesn't exist.
Pooperex from WGaming to KEKWgaming.
FNS and boostio don't have anyone to carry their loud mouths.
NA t1 teams are filled with tier2 unknown bums, and their best team G2 have NPC personalities.
Too many roster changes. Casual viewers will instantly stop watching if they don't recognize any/most of the players.
They removed last chance qualifiers which is one of the most exciting parts of vct.
Shitty generic team bundles.
People who became jobless because of the pandemic now have jobs again so no time to watch vct.
Sideshow still bald.
I mean just looking it from an NA pov, we have so much young talent in tier 2, many of which have already proven they can hang in tier 1 but aren’t playing either by choice/because they couldn’t get a spot.
The problem is both in the recycling of talent creating constantly mid teams, and orgs like EG and C9 who are operating on a budget. I’m all for less franchising slots if it means we can cycle orgs in and out, because some of these teams are just becoming bottom feeders
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