Over the last few years, we have seen several developments in the sports industry that have pushed two disparate segments closer together than ever. eSports and traditional sports have both evolved in fairly similar ways; an impressive growth driven by subsequent drawing in of larger audiences and the passion of participants, with more brands and sponsors circling the industry.
The decline of traditional sports
The traditional sports industry is struggling. A recent downturn in the live viewership of major sporting events such as the NFL, Winter Olympics, and Premier League has shown that the popularity of traditional sports is slowly declining. The primary reason for the decline in live viewership is because it runs off an aging distribution model and companies are slow to implement innovations.
It took several years for FIFA to deploy the goal-line technology during events, and the NFL still doesn’t allow teams to post replay content on social media. In contrast, eSports — also known as professional video gaming — is growing at an unprecedented rate.
The booming market for eSports
A few years back, only a very niche audience might have thought that video game competitions would be broadcasted on the same platform as traditional sports. Although television networks have been obsessed with pastimes such as basketball, football, baseball and soccer, times are changing. There is no doubt that the entertainment ecosystem has transformed drastically over the last few years thanks to the growing popularity of eSports, driven mostly by the internet-streaming generation.
eSport tournaments and gaming events are rapidly growing in popularity. Unlike any other traditional sport, eSports is not rooted in any culture or region, and so has a more global appeal. No wonder being able to reach millions of eyeballs is so important in today’s world. These tournaments are being held in huge sports stadiums around the world, bringing in new audiences as well as creating new opportunities for brands to own a special event.
Increased participation and sponsorships
The eSport tournament finals attract thousands of attendees to the stadiums and millions more watching online via live streaming. Reports estimate that by 2020, eSports will surpass the NBA’s 400 million fans, reaching approximately 500 million followers. eSports has better engagement, more scope for growth and is more innovative than regular sports. Many big companies have recognized the massive growth in eSports popularity and viewership, with media, tech, and traditional sports companies investing in this exciting industry.
For instance, Robert Kraft, the owner of New England Patriots, has started an eSports team. The professional wrestling firm WWE has also invested millions to acquire a stake in the eSports team Cloud9. Further, in 2015, Amazon announced the acquisition of live streaming platform Twitch, and has aggressively promoted eSports as the core selling point of its platform ever since.
A final thought
Although eSports is leading us to reminisce today, this industry is in a transitional phase, moving from a niche pastime to achieving a massive increase in viewership. eSports has a long way to go to surpass traditional sports in terms of revenues and viewership. However, if eSports stays on its path toward growth and the sponsorships continue to flow in, it won’t take a long time for gamers to make more than $1 million every year. 2018 is to set to be an exciting year for the eSports landscape and as for the future, only time will tell if eSports can surpass the popularity of traditional sports.
