There has been a remarkable increase in the popularity and cash generated by eSports during the last several years. It’s not only because more people watching means more money for the network; it’s also because the viewers themselves are spending money. Brands are making direct and indirect investments in eSports marketing because of the opportunity to reach a huge and enthusiastic audience. Due to COVID‘s restrictions on large-scale public eSports events, the sector has seen fast income development.
Many additional facets of eSports have grown in recent years, many of which are intertwined. The eSports sector is booming, and this essay will help you understand how to take advantage of it.
With their 2020 Global Esports Review, Newzoo released their 2021 Global Esports & Live Streaming Industry Report, which evaluates the most recent eSports and live streaming market developments and trends toward 2024. They now understand the importance of livestreaming in the eSports and games industries. In this post, we outline several of their most important discoveries.
Competitive gaming in an organised structure (tournament or league) with a stated goal/reward, such as earning the championship title, or prize money, is defined by Newzoo as an eSports event. For the sake of our eSports metrics, we exclude amateur contests or livestreams involving non-organized competitive gaming from this list. The eSports market is separated from the live-streaming sector by Newzoo.com (aka gaming market).
eSports aficionados are distinguished from casual viewers for the sake of these statistics by Newzoo. Those who watch professional eSports material more than once a month are classified as eSports fans, whereas those who watch professional content less often are classified as occasional watchers. Newzoo’s criteria and recognition of professional eSports have changed, therefore some of the numbers we give here may alter from past versions of this page.
The Rising Popularity of betting on Esports
No wonder that there are so many online eSports sportsbooks to pick from with so many tournaments and competitions to bet on. Newcomers may have a difficult time deciding where to play. It’s important to keep in mind that the quality and experience of each online bookmaker may vary greatly, so picking the first one you find isn’t always the best option.
Promotional offers in Online sportsbooks
Should you wish to start this experience well, it’s well worth your time to conduct some research in order to find relevant information about the different providers, such as the list of the latest mybookie bonus offers, as bonus offers are the best way to start your online sports betting experience. These will offer you bonuses and promotional offers that compete from one bookie to another. Some promotional offers may contain free bets, free spins or even free cash in order to help newcomers to begin playing with an advantage.
eSports Viewership is Growing
The nature of eSports has evolved after the advent of COVID-19. Even influencer marketing has blurred the distinctions between eSports, live streaming, and even eSports. As a result of the epidemic, interest in livestreaming was up across the board. During the lockdown, people had to stay at home and pass the time by watching live streams. In spite of the eSports market’s problems at this period, it also enjoyed significant growth and moved into new areas. As a result of this, several in-person events were cancelled and some worldwide contests had to be substituted with regional ones.
ESports viewers have grown significantly since 2016 – both casual viewers and aficionados, i.e. people that regularly follow the sport. Using Newzoo’s previous standards, there was a 12.3% rise in year-over-year growth between 2018 and 2019. An estimated 397.8 million people tuned in to Newzoo’s 2019 adjusted stats, with 200.8 million viewers and 197 million fans. There will be a combined audience of 435.9 million eSports fans in 2020, with 220.5 million occasional watchers and 215.4 million eSports aficionados, a total viewership of 435.9 million.
According to Newzoo, the eSports viewership will reach 474.0 million people by the end of 2022, with an annual growth rate of 8.7 percent, with 240.0 million occasional watchers and 234.0 million eSports fanatics.
How Brands are Contributing to It
Some corporations have already made large eSports marketing efforts after seeing the potential of breaking into the eSports industry. As a result, the industry’s income has grown significantly in recent years.
There was an average yearly revenue rise of more than 30% from 2013 to 2018, according to a previous Newzoo study. Esports revenue in 2019 grew by 23.3% year-over-year to $957.5 million, despite the slower growth rate (and slightly higher than what Newzoo had predicted).
Although COVID-19 affected eSports income, Newzoo reduced their 2020 eSports revenue forecasts from $1100.1 million (as expected in February 2020) to $950.3 million worldwide. Global eSports income is expected to reach $947.1 million in 2020, even if this projection was too optimistic. Revenues fell by 1.1 percent year-over-year. Because of limits on huge crowds at eSports events, this income drop was the primary factor. eSports and gaming are more popular than ever before, as we’ve seen, yet income sources are now restricted due to COVID concerns.
The Rise of Live eSports Coverage
With internet platforms now making eSports material more accessible, it’s no wonder that more people are viewing eSports youtube videos and tournaments. This is where eSports broadcasters go to broadcast live coverage of tournaments and their own games. Fans will be able to interact with their favourite eSports competitors and engage in their favourite tournaments with greater ease.
Consequently, the number of viewers and broadcasters on these platforms has grown as well, which can be seen. These platforms’ growing audiences and broadcasters may not all be directly related to eSports, but their growth has an effect on the industry nevertheless.