On the 11th of January (KST), the 2019 LoL LCK Spring Split Media Day event was held in the LOLPARK. The following is the specifications and some of the interview questions from the event.

How will the LCK broadcast change?

A booth for the coaching staff has been made. The fans will be able to watch the coaches’ reactions. Also, a mixed zone, where players will be interviewed by media representatives, will be available.

As for the contents, a separate analyst desk program will be launched. Familiar names such as ClowdTemplar, Bitdol, Cpt Jack, and Madlife will participate.

Changes in the schedule and broadcast platform

For this Spring, Round 1 and 2 will be held based on a different schedule. The 1st Round matches will be held on Wednesday through Sunday whereas on Round 2 the matches will be held on Thursday through Sunday. It is told that this is a change regarding players’ fatigue.

The broadcast platforms have been announced as well. In Korea, online broadcasts can be streamed on platforms such as SBS Afreeca TV channel, Naver, Afreeca TV, Facebook Gaming. For overseas broadcasting, Facebook-Twitch.tv (English), HUYA (Chinese), OPENREC.tv (Japenese), Summoner’s Inn (German), and O’Gaming (French) have been selected.

Also, KeSPA announced a new change in the judging system. Starting from this Spring, a total of 6 professional ‘LCK referees’ that are from both Riot Games and KeSPA will participate.

The following is the interview with Riot Korea’sOh Sang-hun, head of esports business.

It seems that the LCK won’t be streamed by OGN and SPOTV Games.

We’ve been discussing this and we’re currently talking about this issue. I think both broadcasters are hesitant about what they should do. In the case of SPOTV, we’re discussing on a different type of broadcast collaboration than just simply transmitting our tournaments. Although we’re not working with the two broadcasters, things might go differently based on how it goes in the future.

Twitch.tv has not been selected as a broadcast platform in Korea.

We’re currently on concluding our negotiation.

Can you tell us about the team franchise plans?

Some other regions have been pushing through franchising teams and they’ve actually made a positive result. We are thinking about doing it. Since it’s quite an important issue, we are waiting for the best timing. I think it’s a bit too early when we’ll do it. It will be finalized after a lot of discussion and agreements.

Do you have any plans on broadcasting English contents?

We are planning to translate almost every content in English. Although it’s not finalized, the new analyst desk program will likely be translated as well.

How will you deal with the ticket scalping issue?

We are continuously monitoring the scalping issue. With Interpark, we are taking care of this problem using numerous technical approaches such as IP surveillance. We will do our best in the future as well.