The share of English-language esports broadcasts fell to 27.9% in the first half of 2026
The analytics portal Esports Charts has published a report on changes in the language preferences of the esports audience. The share of English-language broadcasts on PC is declining due to the rapid growth of regional broadcasts.
The statistics reveal a significant redistribution of market share. By the end of the first half of 2026, the share of English-language content in total viewing time had fallen to 27.9%, whereas at its peak in the second half of 2022, this figure stood at 39.7%. Over this period, the English-language segment lost a total of 27.4 million viewing hours, dropping to 492.5 million hours. The decline in the overall percentage is due to the faster growth of broadcasts in other languages.
Market leadership has shifted to Asian streams, which added 249.4 million hours and accounted for a 41.5% share. The position of Russian-language streams from CIS countries strengthened by 64.7 million hours, reaching a 10.2% share. Regional streams are also actively gaining market share in closed leagues: in the LEC, the share of English-language streams fell from 64% to 38%, and in the Call of Duty League, it dropped from 100% to 80%.
At the same time, at major Counter-Strike 2 championships, net interest in English-language broadcasts has shown tremendous growth. At the IEM Cologne Major 2026, the English-language share fell by 8% to 37% in the first half of 2026, but the actual viewing time for English-language streams soared by 271% compared to the first half of 2021—from 10 to 37 million hours. A similar trend is observed in the VALORANT Champions Tour, where, despite a 19% drop in market share, total viewing time grew by 54% compared to the first half of 2021, reaching 61.5 million hours.
Read also: Community streams accounted for nearly half of all CS2 tournament views in the first half of 2026.
Earlier, Esports Charts also published a commercial ranking for the first half of 2026, assessing the media value of broadcasts for sponsors. The list was topped by the IEM Cologne Major 2026 for Counter-Strike 2, which generated a record $44.89 million in advertising value.
Photo by Stephanie Lindgren, ESL.
