Most Watched Esports Teams: March 2023

Key insights

7 takeaways

01
TSM was the most-watched esports organization in March 2023 with 14.6 million hours watched, driven by 13.5 million hours from content creation and 1.1 million from competitive play.
02
Seven of the top 10 esports organizations generated more than 60% of their total watch time through content creators rather than competitive esports events.
03
TSM, NRG, KOI, and Cloud9 each generated over 10 million hours of watch time specifically through their content creator networks.
04
Fnatic, LOUD, and T1 were the only organizations in the top 10 to derive the majority of their viewership from competitive esports rather than content creation.
05
Fnatic led all organizations in esports-specific viewership with 9.2 million hours, largely bolstered by their performance in the VCT: LOCK//IN tournament.
06
T1 generated over 80% of its total March viewership from esports, peaking at 1.2 million concurrent viewers during their LCK Spring Season playoff matches against KT Rolster.
07
Apex Legends was TSM's top-performing game, with streamers TSM_ImperialHal and Mande accounting for 3.5 million hours of the organization's total watch time.

Summary

The landscape of esports viewership in March 2023 was defined by a strategic divide between organizations prioritizing content creator influence and those focused on competitive tournament performance. TSM emerged as the most-watched esports organization, accumulating 14.6 million hours watched. This total was primarily driven by content creation, which accounted for 13.5 million hours, bolstered significantly by Apex Legends streaming, while competitive play contributed 1.1 million hours.

A clear bifurcation exists among the top ten organizations regarding their primary sources of engagement. Seven of these teams, including TSM, NRG, KOI, and Cloud9, generated over 60% of their total watch time through content creators, with each of these four entities surpassing 10 million hours in this category alone. Conversely, Fnatic, LOUD, and T1 relied heavily on competitive esports events to drive their metrics. Fnatic led this group with 9.2 million hours derived from competition, largely fueled by their participation in the VCT: LOCK//IN tournament.

Competitive performance remained a potent driver for specific organizations, particularly within the Valorant and League of Legends ecosystems. LOUD and Fnatic saw substantial viewership spikes during the VCT: LOCK//IN finals, while T1 secured over 80% of its total watch time from esports, anchored by the LCK 2023 Spring Season. The LCK tournament itself proved to be a major industry pillar, generating over 23 million hours watched throughout the month. These findings underscore that while content creator partnerships are essential for broad reach, high-stakes tournament play remains the primary engine for organizations deeply integrated into professional competitive circuits.