eSports Are Bigger Than Ever This Year

8 years ago | Posted in: Technology | 1038 Views

eSports have gone mainstream. In 2016, major entertainment companies, from television networks to the gaming companies themselves, plan to pump more money into eSports than ever before. More people tune in to watch their favorite teams or cheer their country on at international competitions. In 2016, eSports will be bigger than ever for a number of reasons.

More Investment

The amount of money to be made in the eSports industry continues to grow. Analysts expect revenues to top $1 billion soon. This has led many very large brands to jump at the chance to partner with eSports entities. This includes constant advertising presences in the traditional sports world like Coca-Cola. Google has invested on the ground floor by trying to attract more eSports to YouTube and away from Twitch. With more sponsors, the prize pools over $1 million are growing. Dota 2 – The International already gave an $18 million pool in 2015; it is expected to rise above $20 million this year.

Analysts have also predicted that this is the year for eSports to expand its reach. Korea, China, and Japan already have a huge and lucrative eSports scene, and the majority of the current growth has been focused in the United States and Europe. But with the industry growing, it begins to look to the markets where it has the most room to expand. A number of eSports organizations plan to expand into Latin America in the near future. Southeast Asia, which had not embraced the craze to the same degree as other countries on the continent, is expected to see the largest growth in the eSports market.

With these major pushes into new territory and influx of money from international brands, analysts predict big gains for eSports. A recent Newzoo report expects the value of the eSports market to grow by as much as 43% in 2016. That puts pushes the industry over the edge, taking an already millions of dollar industry and turning it into a billion dollar industry.

Network Support

For the first time, eSports will be regularly aired on network television in the United States. In 2016, TBS plans to air full programs of 20 live eSports events. To aide them in airing these eSports, starting with Counter-Strike, Turner has created a new sports league with large cash prizes. Sports juggernaut ESPN has already aired Heroes of the Storm and League of Legends tournaments on ESPN2 and online, and plans to increase its coverage significantly in the coming year.

Greater Viewership

2015 saw a record number of viewers watching competitions, and that number will only continue to climb in 2016. Twitch has reported a 30 percent increase in people watching tournaments like those for Counter-Strike, which garnered 27 million viewers alone. That is more people than tuned in to watch the College Football playoff championship game, and that is for only one game. As more people watch, the services used will evolve to add more features like captioning services, which will bring in even more viewers.

Room for Expansion

eSports have kept growing, but they have not yet tapped the largest market in gaming: the mobile market. With eSports and mobile games experience a growth of popularity, the two will begin to merge more often. Asian tournament organizers have already begun to form eSports events for popular competitive mobile games, and the room for expansion is enormous. With the most gamers of any system and a large pool of both hardcore and casual fans to pull viewership from, mobile eSports may be just the thing to propel eSports to new heights.

eSports have grown rapidly in the last few years, and they show no sign of slowing down in 2016. New viewers, investors, leagues, and ways to watch ensure one thing: growth. When eSports first showed up, few took it seriously, but this year it takes over.

 

By: Dennis Hung 

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