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INTRODUCTION
Esports: Leveling Up The window is now for broadcasters and other investors to make smart, welltimed esports plays.
20 years of this century, the age of the average viewer has risen from 40 to 43 for the National Basketball Association, from 44 to 52 for the National Football League and from 52 to 58 for Major League Baseball. Meanwhile, the average esports fan is 31.
Esports has been growing in popularity
Covid has had a mixed impact on
and is now at an inflection point where
esports, which has not experienced
the market structure and economics
the unilateral uplift that might be
make it a mainstream platform for
expected from any digital-centric
millennials and those targeting them.
product. As with other sports,
Today’s esports teams compete in
esports saw cancelled events
front of massive global audiences. In
with associated loss of associated
fact, the most popular events attract
revenues. Merchandise and ticketing
the same size audiences as traditional
revenues were down 30% in 2021
top-tier sporting events. As far back as
vs. 2018. However, sponsorship
2014, the NBA Finals drew an average
and media rights remained strong
of 15 million viewers while more
and a rapid overall rebound is
than 20 million people watched The
expected in the coming years.
International Dota 2 Championships, a multiplayer online video game
The Bottom Line
tournament. By 2018 the global
As viewership has grown, so has
esports audience had reached 380
the financial side of the industry,
million and in 2021 hit 474 million with
with total revenues reaching over
an annual growth rate of 10 percent. And yet, many companies are
$1 billion in 2021 (see figure 1) — a revenue pool approaching the scale
still ignoring this growing tidal
seen in some traditional sports.
wave, despite the world’s leading
Just as in traditional sports, esports
broadcasters losing hundreds of
competitions regularly sell out and
thousands of viewers each month
fans purchase a range of merchandise,
as younger generations turn their
such as team apparel. The primary
attention to non-traditional sports.
difference is the involvement of game
As the average age of viewers for
publishers (Anyone can monetise
mainstream sports creeps up, esports
sports such as football or basketball,
is rushing to fill that void. In the first
but digital game publishers have
