The cumulative viewing time for Japanese esports tournaments increased by 60% compared to the previous year, reaching 1.36 billion minutes over 400 broadcasts days during the first quarter of 2023 according to TAIYORO

PlayBrain Inc. (headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, hereinafter referred to as PlayBrain) reported on the viewing trends for Japanese esports tournaments between January and March 2023, based on data observed through the comprehensive tournament schedule site “TAIYORO.”

The first quarter of 2023 was marked by the kick-off of several official league tournaments, including the “2023 VALORANT Champions Tour LOCK//IN” world tournament held in São Paulo, Brazil, and “VALORANT Challengers Japan 2023” held by he Japanese league. These events led VALORANT to gather half of the total viewing time of Japanese tournament broadcasts, amounting to 1.36 billion minutes.

Streamers hosting watch parties throughout the season for the domestic pro league for League of Legends, “LJL 2023 Spring Split,” also account for a significant share of the viewing time. Combined with VALORANT’s official tournaments, these two titles resulted accounted for over 300 million minutes of the cumulative viewing time for watch party streams (mirror broadcasts).

The mirror broadcast trend and the success of official broadcasts resulted in a 60% increase in the cumulative viewing time for Japanese esports tournament broadcasts compared to the same period last year, and continue to demonstrate significant growth.

Below are the main trends from January to March 2023 in domestic esports broadcasting, as independently compiled by TAIYORO.

1.36 billion minutes of cumulative viewing time observed on the Japanese esports scene during the first quarter of 2023

• Over 400 days of esports tournaments were broadcasted in Japan (a 28% increase from the previous year).
• These broadcasts featured more than 35 game titles
• The cumulative viewing time for domestic esports tournaments amounted to approximately 1.36 billion minutes, a 60% increase from the previous year.
• The highest recorded peak concurrent viewership at a single event amounted to 109,000 people during the “2023 VALORANT Champions Tour LOCK/IN Brazil” held on February 23.*

*Official broadcast viewership only

(Data source: TAIYORO)

Key esports viewing trends for Q1 2023, as identified by TAIYORO

Watch party streams, surpassing 300 million minutes in viewing time

The viewing time for mirror broadcasts of official esports competitions amounted to 300 million minutes during the first quarter, or roughly 20% of the total viewing time for the period. Notably, the “LJL 2023 Spring Split,” an official League of Legends league, saw a significant contribution from watch parties hosted by well-known streamers and professional players throughout the season, hitting the 100 million minutes mark in sub-broadcast viewing time.

As for VALORANT, the combined viewing time for watch parties during the “VALORANT Challengers Japan 2023” Splits 1 and 2, the “2023 VALORANT Champions Tour LOCK//IN,” and “VCT PACIFIC” reached 190 million minutes. The watch party trend underlines the established popularity of viewing esports tournaments via watch parties alongside streamers.

VALORANT’s popularity, with the title claiming nearly half of all Japanese esports viewing time

The “VALORANT Challengers Japan 2023 Split 1,” held from January to March, logged 190 million minutes of viewing time, as did the “2023 VALORANT Champions Tour LOCK//IN” in São Paulo, Brazil, in February (streamers’ mirror broadcasts not included).

Additionally, with the start of “VALORANT Challengers Japan 2023 Split 2” and the international “2023 VCT Pacific” competition featuring teams from Japan in late March, “VALORANT” once again led the ranking of the total Japanese esports viewing time, continuing on the same path as in 2022.

League of Legends’s strong presence, with the highest number of broadcast days (over 100 days)

League of Legends featured a significant number of broadcast day, thanks to the “LJL 2023 Spring Split” starting in late January, and the official Japanese broadcasts for the Korean league “LCK”and the newly introduced Japanese broadcast for the European league “LEC” featuring Japanese player Eve from Team Heretics Evi on AfreecaTV.

With League of Legends expanding its broadcast presence to include international regions in its Japanese broadcasts, the first quarter of 2023 saw over 100 days of League of Legends broadcasts, making it the most broadcasted esports title in Japan.

About the esports calendar “TAIYORO”

The esports calendar website “TAIYORO” is dedicated to making it easier for fans to watch esports tournaments by offering up-to-date information on esports broadcasts within Japan and collecting data on viewership. One of its unique feature is the free Discord Bot, which enables users to link the schedule of Japanese esports broadcasts directly to their Discord servers.

Information listed on TAIYORO spans from competitions in major professional esports leagues both in Japan and internationally (with Japanese language broadcasts), down to community-level tournaments and innovative new events, all with the objective of continually updating to support the growth and expansion of the esports viewership community.

Learn more about the TAIYORO esports calendar: https://taiyoro.gg/

For more information on the free TAIYORO Discord Bot: https://taiyoro.gg/discord

TAIYORO is committed to providing accurate and analyzable viewership data to deepen understanding of fan engagement in Japan’s esports scene, aiming to facilitate new business opportunities and enrich the fan experience. Customizable reports will soon be available to offer compiled viewership data reports to businesses, event organizers, and media outlets.

About TAIYORO

TAIYORO is a portal site designed for esports viewing fans, offering comprehensive information on esports tournaments within Japan, from VODs of past events to broadcast details of upcoming events. Whether you are searching for the schedule of esports tournaments for your favorite game titles or want to catch the esports events everyone is currently buzzing about, our goal is to bring the excitement of esports viewing closer to everyone and share the fun of watching esports with as many people as possible.

The information on our site is kept up-to-date and accurate thanks to contributions and cooperation from tournament organizers and communities. If you find any inaccuracies or wish to request corrections, please reach out to us via the contact form.

Website: https://taiyoro.gg/

Discord Bot: https://taiyoro.gg/discord

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Taiyoro_gg