MBC Secures LCK Finals Broadcast Rights Until 2027 Following 0.4% Debut Rating

Riot Games has renewed its broadcast deal with MBC to air the League of Legends Champions Korea Finals live on South Korean terrestrial television through 2027, marking the third consecutive year for the country’s premier League of Legends competition to be featured on national TV.

In an announcement made on Thursday, Riot Games revealed that this two-year agreement will cover the Finals for 2026 and 2027. This year’s final is set for September 13 at 2 p.m. KST at the KSPO Dome in Olympic Park, Seoul, with the finals qualifier taking place the day before. MBC has scheduled the match for its Sunday afternoon slot, typically reserved for professional baseball and other major sports, and plans to assemble a commentary team aimed at introducing new viewers to the league while promoting the event through its sports news segments.

Financial details of the agreement remain undisclosed. It is unclear whether MBC will pay a rights fee, co-produce the broadcast with Riot Games, or operate on a revenue-sharing or barter basis for the 2025 and 2026 agreements.

The renewal comes after a debut broadcast that attracted a modest audience.

MBC’s live coverage of the 2025 final, where Gen.G triumphed over Hanwha Life Esports 3-1 at Inspire Arena in Incheon on September 28, achieved a 0.4% nationwide household rating, according to Nielsen Korea figures. In Seoul and Daejeon, the rating was 0.7%, while the wider capital region saw 0.5%, and Busan and Gwangju recorded 0.2%. MBC’s own News Desk garnered a 5.8% rating that evening, and a concurrent KBO League game on another channel attracted 0.7%. The absence of T1, the league’s most internationally followed team, raised concerns about the potential audience for the broadcast.

A broadcast executive involved in professional sports noted that terrestrial ratings for pro baseball typically range from 1% to 2%, suggesting that the LCK’s numbers were low in comparison. However, another industry figure argued that while the rating was weak against a similarly scheduled baseball game, it was still a respectable showing for esports’ first terrestrial broadcast, especially considering the shift of younger viewers to YouTube and other streaming platforms.

The rating’s significance is diminished, as terrestrial television does not represent the primary source of domestic rights revenue for the LCK.

In December, Riot Games announced that Naver and SOOP would hold exclusive Korean-language live rights to the LCK for five years, starting in 2026 and running through 2030, with contract terms not disclosed. Industry estimates suggest the combined value of this deal is around ₩150 billion KRW ($107 million USD) — ₩100 billion ($72 million) from Naver and ₩50 billion ($36 million) from SOOP, averaging roughly ₩30 billion ($21.5 million) per year. Neither company has confirmed these estimates, with representatives stating they cannot disclose specific terms.

This deal is not solely a rights fee; it also grants both platforms Korean-language broadcast rights to Riot’s international events and overseas leagues, including the LPL and LEC, as well as official sponsor rights for the LCK. Naver has also acquired naming rights for the league’s Seoul venue, now known as CHZZK LoL Park. Estimates suggest this total exceeds the ₩135 billion ($97 million) Tving paid for three years of KBO League rights, although it falls short on an annual basis.

The contract also removed YouTube from Korean-language live coverage of the league, although it retains highlights and behind-the-scenes content uploaded approximately 24 hours later, along with international broadcasts.

This shift has fragmented the LCK’s live audience. Data from Softcon Viewership indicated that a January 23 LCK Cup match between T1 and KT Rolster peaked at 233,600 concurrent viewers on Naver’s CHZZK, 232,500 on YouTube, and 151,700 on SOOP. A T1 match in February 2025, prior to the exclusivity, attracted 730,000 concurrent viewers on YouTube alone. YouTube also maintained a strong replay audience, with highlights from the January match reaching 610,000 views compared to 50,000 on CHZZK and 13,000 on SOOP.

Additionally, a significant portion of the league’s audience is international. A report from Nasmedia indicated that LCK live coverage averaged around 630,000 viewers per minute in 2025, with over 60% of the total viewership coming from outside Korea. Terrestrial broadcasts, by nature, only cater to the domestic audience.

Korea has previously attempted to integrate esports into television, but the results were not favorable.

OGN, one of the first television channels dedicated to esports, produced Korea’s top League of Legends competition until Riot Games took over production at LoL Park in 2019. OGN’s linear operations were eventually shut down, and the channel was sold to gaming data platform OP.GG in 2022. In February 2025, OGN returned LCK matches to Korean IPTV and cable under a two-year agreement covering 2025 and 2026, airing on weeknights at 11 p.m. KST. This deal is set to expire at the end of the current season, with no renewal announced.

Television has also attracted interest from streaming rights holders. SOOP has promoted its cable channel SOOPTV as a means to reach large-screen audiences in venues like military bases and restaurants, with reports indicating that the channel’s ratings more than tripled after the season opener.

For MBC, the appeal of a one-day rights package is clearer when viewed against its financial reports. The broadcaster reported a revenue drop of ₩29.4 billion ($21.1 million) to ₩718.6 billion ($514.6 million) in 2025, resulting in an operating loss of ₩27.6 billion ($19.8 million). Advertising revenue also fell by ₩21.5 billion ($15.4 million) to ₩243.5 billion ($174.4 million). While MBC posted net income of ₩177.7 billion ($127.3 million), the report attributed increases in cash and investment holdings to a national tax refund and gains from the sale of Busan MBC’s headquarters, rather than trading performance. Its 16 regional affiliates collectively lost ₩53 billion ($38 million).

In light of these figures, the estimated annual value of the Naver and SOOP package represents about 12% of MBC’s total yearly advertising revenue and exceeds the operating loss recorded for the year. A finals-only terrestrial window is a significantly cheaper option compared to what the streaming platforms acquired.

Ahn Hee-nam, head of MBC’s sports planning and business team, emphasized the renewal’s focus on audience reach, stating that the first terrestrial live broadcast in 2025 demonstrated the LCK’s potential as premium sports content for all generations. He expressed confidence that MBC’s production capabilities and terrestrial accessibility would enhance the live experience for existing fans while providing accessible commentary for newcomers.

LCK Secretary General Lee Jung-hoon noted that the two-year contract offers an opportunity to expand the league’s fanbase, hoping that LoLesports gains wider recognition through MBC and resonates with more generations.

While the announcement does not link the contract term to Riot Games’ international calendar, it coincides with the year South Korea is set to host the League of Legends World Championship. The Korea Esports Association and Riot Games Korea initiated public bidding in March for cities to host the tournament’s knockout stage, scheduled for late October 2027, with a host city to be selected in August. Additionally, South Korea is moving to eliminate its esports tax credits ahead of the tournament.

Uncertainties remain regarding whether MBC pays a rights fee, how the terrestrial window aligns with Naver and SOOP’s exclusivity, the advertising revenue generated by the 2025 broadcast, the demographics targeted by Korean advertisers, the future of OGN’s cable arrangement, the location of the 2027 Finals, and the city hosting the Worlds 2027 knockout stage.

The immediate outcome is that Korea’s largest domestic esports event will remain on free national television for two more years. The broader question is whether terrestrial broadcasting serves as a genuine channel for the LCK’s audience or merely as a tool for legitimacy — a Sunday afternoon slot that signals mainstream sports status to sponsors and regulators, while the majority of the audience and revenue continue to reside elsewhere.