What Happened
The League of Legends 2015 World Championship tallied 36 million unique viewers for its finals match on Oct. 31, marking a new record for esports event viewership. Riot Games, the company behind the popular game, reports that the largest peak concurrent viewership hit an impressive 14 million during the finals match. In comparison, the latest Game of Thrones finale scored 8.1 million viewers in live plus same-day ratings.
What Brands Need To Do
This staggering viewership number serves as a reminder of how much esports has grown the over the past few years. Once dismissed as a geeky niche, it has quickly developed into a massive media platform that attracts hundreds of millions of spectators and generates millions of dollars. In fact, many brands, including Coca-Cola and Geico, have started sponsoring esports events in order to reach the highly coveted young male audience.
Source: LoL eSports
