This is kind of true though...
LoL: "No One Is Showing Up" Ovilee Reveals Hot Take On Future Of LCS
At the start of the 2023 LCS Spring Split, Riot made some peculiar changes to the LCS timeslot. Not only did they move the games to the week, but they've also changed the broadcast times in such a way that anyone who works or is in school will have a difficult time to made it to the live event.
Content creator Travis Gafford has also previously mentioned how empty the LCS seats have been throughout the split (even going as far back as Summer 2022) and now former LCS host and content creator Ovilee May has also weighed in with her own opinions.
LoL: The LCS Live Audience Has Dwindled In Spring 2023
In previous years, the LCS had the primetime slot on the weekends, but in a restructuring of their League of Legends esports content, Riot has decided to move the LCS to Thursday and Fridays. That in itself is not the biggest issue at hand though.
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Instead, there had been major uproar regarding the time that the LCS would take place. With the LCS taking place live in Los Angeles, but most viewers tuning in from the east coast, Riot decided to have the event start in the afternoon.
This has caused live viewership to dwindle, meaning that the LCS studio in Los Angeles has had many empty seats throughout the Spring Split, something content creators and viewers have noticed and mentioned before.
Recently, on a podcast, Ovilee revealed her "debbie downer" take on the LCS, stating that the product would be exactly the same if the live audience would be completely removed, as well as the analyst desk.
I think the LCS can eliminate the live audience, can eliminate the analyst desk, and just essentially combine casters with one analyst and ahve them do a 3-man show. The LCS product will be exactly the same.
She argued that by eliminating the studio and all the fanfare the LCS could be saving thousands of dollars, which can then be used to better the broadcast product in and of itself. She also explained that the LCS has been budgeting and cutting costs and that if they're going to follow through, then this would definitely be the way to go.
This has caused quite the discussion online, whether the LCS should be completely online, or whether the regular season should be online with offline and in-person playoffs. One thing is for sure though, the LCS has been struggling and this would be the most cost-efficient way even if we have to see it.