As physical sports got off the road in 2020 due to Coronavirus pandemic, esports got the biggest breakthrough as multiple new players joined. Across the world, multiple industry reports came out that claimed esports to grow even more in the upcoming years. Also the great opportunities one can have in esports. Just like other reports, a very famous esports analytics source Newzoo released a new report regarding global esports generation. According to the report, the global esports market will produce $973.9 Million in just 2020 and it will increase in 2021 to $1194.8 Million.
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Physical Events and Esports
The report of Newzoo explains how physical events were a big part of the industry’s revenue. As they have started going down or delayed, a lot of things have changed for Esports. The global revenue goes down as the report states that this is not because of a lack of demand for esports, it is because all the physical events keep getting canceled. Similarly, a large number of events directed towards some alternative formats. As the report said that all the offline events are now being replaced by online events, all the leading organizers are replacing the international tournaments with regional tournaments.
International vs Regional Events
Newzoo’s report claims that esports should focus more on regional events to prove itself authentic digitally. In defense, the report says that it is difficult to conclude a fair competition. As two teams who compete through different internet qualities cannot be judged equally. Thus, it could question the integrity of the event. The report also claimed that tickets and merchandise have been affected the most as all the physical activities switched online.
Tickets and Merchandise
Newzoo’s report caters to all the esports factors that affect the industry. The report claims that ticket sales and merchandise will produce $76.2 Million in 2020. A further comparison has been made that in February, it was $121.7 Million and $106.5 Million in April. This shows an epic downfall over the months.
It can also be observed through the report as sponsors seem a little not-interested in digital events. The main reason for it is because the sponsors cannot engage themselves with a live audience. Even though sponsorship is taking a hit here, Marketing grabs a better position here. The Marketing section says that esports is handling the pandemic quite well and some brands still look interested in the community. To second that, BMW signed a contract with the world’s top five esports teams. This is a very big step for the esports industry. Similarly, June brought some more contracts. In June, Verizon signed a three-year contract with the industry to become the official provider of 5G and other network services of the Legends Championship Series.
This partnership has given a great opportunity to esports to benefit the most of the situation.
The Growth
Esports has grown very prominently over the years. The World Economic Forum says that this enormous growth of esports is firmly due to COVID-19. The Forum says that this is since people are stranded at home and they are not allowed to go out. The Forum also says that physical Sports Leagues around the globe have turned themselves to find a better way to engage with their fans. There are channels on the TV that stream live matches of esports. This is solely done because the broadcasters keep waiting for the real sport to be on-air, but they are canceled due to the pandemic.
An organization in Switzerland has also figured out a possible reason for this enormous growth. According to the organization, the value of esports has increased rapidly due to the low-cost marketing it received during the pandemic.
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The rise in Esports Betting
The year 2020 has also witnessed an abnormal increase in esports betting. Not just gaming, but betting has also seen a steep in its market. An official Forbes article states that the cancellation of the regular sports diverted a lot of players towards esports. Due to the banning of physical sports, more people joined esports. This eventually brought those fans who would traditionally bet on regular sport but the pandemic has made them bet on esports as well.
The article also focused on investors and sponsors for esports. It stated that due to the pandemic, it is not just the consumers who are looking towards esports, but also the sponsors and investors. As physical sports are out of the scene for the moment, investors are putting more money in esports to get heavy benefits. Due to more investment, esports is enjoying the highest rank in the global market.
The entire market of esports will surpass all the previous records in the upcoming years, due to the fan-base esports generated. A very famous German statistical portal, Statista, claims that the predicted esports revenue for the world in 2022 will be $1.79 Billion. In 2018, the total viewership of esports topped at 395 Million and the industry reached a milestone. However, Statista predicts that the total viewership of esports will surpass 646 Million worldwide. It is a huge jump for the community, in just two years.
The World Economic Forum states that COVID-19 may end up normalizing esports as a result of “accidental and unprecedented” adoption by athletes, broadcasters, and leagues to engage fans. The Forum says that this pandemic has reminded multiple brands and companies that there remains a market of extremely engaged customers. These developments might inch esports to the mainstream.
Conclusion
The Esports industry has grown very rapidly during the Coronavirus pandemic. As physical sports got out of the league, more people turned towards esports. Consumers are taking advantage of the situation by betting more on esports. Advertisers and sponsors are also taking advantage of the situation due to esports getting all the attention. The professional statistical members state that esports will turn extremely huge in the upcoming years.
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