Mentioned in this article Games: League of Legends

Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles, Erik “DoA” Lonnquist, and Christopher “PapaSmithy” Smith won’t attend the 2016 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational in Shanghai. The three casters were not able to agree on contract terms with Riot Games, due to a payment offer “far below industry standard for 2016,” according to a statement they released on Wednesday.

In the joint statement, the three caster explain that they “were surprised to discover from our peers that Riot’s offer to us was approximately 40 to 70 per cent of the rate received by talent for major events in all of these titles.” They shared these rates with Riot in the hope to reach an agreement commensurate with the market, which did prompt an increase in Riot’s offer. However, the deal still remained unacceptable for the three.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Since we are freelancers and not Riot employees, we rely on these contracts for our income and feel that we would damage our careers in the long term by accepting below-market rates. Furthermore, by agreeing to a significantly lower wage we fear that we may contribute to the regression of standards for freelance casters in the industry as a whole.”[/perfectpullquote]

The bold move has been thoroughly discussed in the media, as well as behind the scenes. The most popular reaction has been to support the attempt of Mykles, Lonnquist and Smith to raise industry standards. The Mid-Season Invitational is the second largest international League of Legends event, and it seems logical that high-profile casters at the event should be paid similarly to other broadcasters in similar roles.

Furthermore, as League of Legends is centered around multiple regions and their respective leagues, region-specific casters like Mykles and company are specialists in those regions. Even if perfectly briefed and with weeks of preparation in advance, it is hard to learn the intricacies of a region if one doesn’t cast there on a regular basis. This is especially true for the color-casters. An entertaining and informative cast relies on more than just preferred item-builds, strategies, or the champion pool of a player. It relies on sprinkles of meta stories, personality quirks of players, and each player’s individual background.

Monte, DoA, and PapaSmithy have become famous for this exact style of casting. Family anecdotes, stories of friendship and rivalry between players, unordinary team-building measures, regional history, and even pop-cultural references from movies, books, and internet culture all find their way into the OGN team’s broadcasts

They need Riot

“When it comes to knowing about the teams, the players, and the story lines, you need experts from each of these regions to be involved if you want the best product possible,” wrote Tyler Erzberger, Staff Writer at ESPN.

Erzberger is right. If you want the best product possible, you do need the best staff possible. In my opinion, however, he comes to the wrong conclusion when he states that “[the three OGN casters] don’t need Riot.”

Erzberger argues that Mykles and Lonnquist have been around as casters before League of Legends, and that they will stay around once it has past its prime. Both have a huge fan base, with tens of thousands of followers on social media. They have a strong personal brand, and yes, it enables them to decline an event like MSI. Does that mean they won’t show up at the international League of Legends stage again at all moving forward? Highly unlikely.

They absolutely do need Riot. Smith said it himself: “I want to stress that we aren’t making this statement lightly and it’s not like turning down even what Riot was offering isn’t a big deal for us. It is.”

Of course it is. Even with Riot underpaying—overwhelmingly bad if those 40 to 70 per cent figures can be trusted—League of Legends international events are still the place to be, for players as much as for casters. Obviously, an ambitious caster wants to be on the talent lineup for the major events for various reasons—to promote their own brand, to be part of the most competitive games, or simply to enjoy the breathtaking atmosphere of a stadium packed with fans.

And Riot needs them

The case above is clear that any opportunity to work with Riot is one a caster should immediately accept. It’s also true that Riot needs these casters.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]It’s not a matter of not being able to pay rates, but a matter of not wanting to.[/perfectpullquote]

Riot has shown an immense growth year after year. Its revenue grew from $624M in 2013, to an estimated $1b in 2014, and an estimated $1.6b in 2015 (based on SuperData research)—seven times more than its closest competitor. The company has more than 1,000 employees and boasts itself with being continuously present at the top of Fortune’s ‘100 Best Company to Work For.’ When Riot doesn’t pay Mykles, Lonnquist, and Smith commensurate with market rates, it’s not a matter of not being able to pay rates, but a matter of not wanting to.

Esports is a loss leader for Riot—it brings in interest and business, but it doesn’t generate net positive income by itself. However, it is definitely Riot’s most powerful marketing tool. The LCS is constantly in the news, and the World Championships’ viewership ensures that everybody thinks of League as the top esport. This success then attracts venture capital, sponsors, and big brands. The players are the game’s face, and the casters its voice.

Having the best casters, then, is integral to pursuing those interests. And, as stated before, the OGN three are best suited to talking about the OGN players and stories coming into MSI. Not having them at the event puts Riot on the back foot, and risks their overall purpose for the event.

But they don’t need Riot like this

There is, however, breaking point. Riot has created an uncomfortable position for the casters to be in, one in which accepting for personal reasons harms the bigger picture.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Every non-Riot caster interested in League should expect to be paid less than counterparts.[/perfectpullquote]

Not being paid similarly to those in other games, and those in other events, hurts the industry. If OGN casters don’t get paid industry-standard rates, then it stands to reason that every non-Riot caster interested in League should expect to be paid less than counterparts. Riot underpaying freelance casters creates a shadow over all other opportunities for freelance League casters.

It also harms those interested in casting League. Why begin to focus on that game when others will pay more? The long-term vision of this strategy is to starve out an entire generation of casters. You’re either Riot staff, or you’re out of the game.

The end game

So, everybody needs each other, but they couldn’t make it work. The real people that get hurt, however, are the fans.

Even with Riot full-time employed casters, it can’t provide the high-quality that viewers are used to from its international events. Whatever solution Riot will come up with at MSI in May, if it doesn’t include the LCK casters, will be less-than-ideal. On the surface, MSI will still be the shiny, glorious, and spectacular viewing experience that we’ve seen before. However, it will lack that little bit extra, that portion of wittiness, of specialized knowledge, and expertise, that the OGN casters provide.

Riot clearly missed the opportunity to give credit where credit is due. On the other hand, Mykles, Lonnquist and Smith deserve a hat tip for exposing bad industry practice as well as standing their ground and fighting for the bigger case. There is no better way to say it, than with the words of Christopher “PapaSmithy” Smith: “If we simply go along with that it sets a bad precedent for anyone who wants to make casting a viable career path. We can’t do that.”