eSports is getting bigger and bigger. Now, major sports broadcasters are analyzing closely the factors of its success and trying to follow the best practices from the eSports publishers.
As you may well know, sports and online streaming are a force to be reckoned with, and as eSports continue to develop and grow, an increasing number innovations are taking place in this new and exciting interactive sporting medium.
Demographics: eSports vs sports
In fact, according to Newzoo, the majority of American football fans (56 percent) are older than 35, while eSports fans are much younger, with 73 percent below the age of 35. It appears that this new brand of sporting entertainment appeals to the millennials of the planet rather than the baby boomers, and it’s momentum is picking up rapidly.
What's interesting is that eSports are as much a spectator pursuit as a participation activity. Live streaming services like Twitch, and its Asian counterparts boast more than 100 million unique viewers every month, and games as a theme are equal to music on YouTube. Amazingly, live eSports events attract up to 100,000 visitors over a single weekend. Pretty impressive.
Learning from eSports practices
Unlike many of today's traditional TV broadcasters, eSports companies understand the innovation and techniques required to attract and retain the loyalty of the young millennial. And, as American male millennials (age 21 to 35) find eSports equally as popular as baseball or ice hockey (with 22 per cent watching it), the target audience is vast.
With intuitive interfaces, innovative promotional campaigns, and broadcasts focused on a superior user experience for both spectators and participants, millennials can't get enough of eSports, and the hunger is just getting more intense.
Why investing in eSports?
Now, to keep up with times and jump on this growing trend successfully, broadcasters are looking at the opportunity to invest in eSports. For today's broadcasters, the two most important areas of focus should be as follows:
- providing new means of entertainment to a growing part of their current fan base,
- drawing millions of new fans to their franchise.
As eSports creep into the consciousness of the mainstream, people are starting to wise up and take note. Entertainment giant Sky is now investing in its very own eSports platform to expand its broadcasting reach and engage with its younger audience.
According to the same Newzoo study, basketball clubs investing in esports have the potential to reach 10.3 million new eSports fans that at this moment in time, aren't even into the game. A clear indication of the power of eSports.
Today's youth are tech savvy, they live to use social media platforms, and they're looking for entertainment that offers an extra dimension. When it comes to innovation, scope, and engagement, eSports provide the perfect playing field - and as more broadcasters hop aboard the bandwagon, we can expect exciting things in the not so distant future.
We are encouraged that big eSports players (like Final Fantasy XIV) are seeing the potential of monetizing their events and opt for Cleeng as their tech partner. Live PPV and subscriptions as revenue models, together with advanced geo-targeting and watermarking capabilities work perfectly for premium eSports publishers with engaged fan bases.
If you are a eSports events organizer, check out the best practices for selling live PPV events:
