
The Global Growth of Esports
Trends, Revenues, and Audience Towards 2017 powered by V1.0
FULL 68-PAGE REPORT
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© 2015 Newzoo
© 2014 Newzoo
About Newzoo’s Global Esports Report
Free Preview Report: Introduction and Scope
Report: Global Growth of Esports
Trends, Audience and Revenues Towards 2017
www.newzoo.com/esportsreport
At Newzoo, we continuously aim to be ahead of the curve. Our clients expect that we have data on trends as, or preferably before, they occur. Mid-2013, at the time of the next-gen console releases, we published a trend report called ‘PC Gaming: Power to the People’to counterbalance all the press attention that went to the next-gen console race. Video content and esports played a pivotal role in that publication. At the same time, we
integrated esports and video consumption topics in our syndicated consumer research effort across 25 countries, ultimately reflected in our esports country reports and data.Since then, Twitch has been acquired by Amazon, gaming is second only to music on and esports has been featured in every mainstream newspaper in the world. Moreover, PC gaming is now getting the respect it deserves.
Over the past nine months we have combined our own research results, various esports related data sources and input from our partners and clients into our Global Esports Audience and Revenue Model. This dynamic model will allow us to see the impact of events in 2015 on the future potential of this space that truly is at the nexus of all games market and industry trends.
“Of all the reports Newzoo has published in its 8-year run, I’d have to say I’m most proud of our 68-page esports report. It combines our ability to spot, size, model and analyze trends, producing industry first results for the maximum benefit of our clients.”
Peter Warman CEO Newzoo
FULL REPORT CONTENT
Introduction
Key Trends in Games & Esports The Esports Audience
Global ®ional audience per type Esports audience growth 2012-2017 Demographics per region
The Esports Economy
Prize money trends The Esports value chain
Key teams, channels, publishers, events, leagues and sponsoring brands Publisher investment into Esports Esports Revenues
Revenue streams
Global & regional Esports revenue projections, split per revenue stream
Sports vs. Esports
Gaming & Esports versus all & individual sports on audience and revenues Value per viewer: sports vs Esports Future potential of Esports Esports betting
Appendix
Data tables with revenue & audience data 2012-2017: Global & Regional
The 68-page report Global Growth of Esports aims to give a sound and realistic overview of the current status and future of esports. Multiple data sources were used in the shaping of a global esports audience and revenue model, one that will be continually updated in the future.When it comes to audience we have taken viewers of (online) amateur leagues and championships into account but limited the viewer numbers to the frequent viewers and active participants (defined as the “Esports Enthusiasts”). For revenues we have focused only on the professionally organized esports events, teams and leagues.This document contains several high-level graphs from the full 68-page report.
Audience Scope Includes (online) amateur leagues and
championships.
Revenue Scope
Excludes (ad) revenues generated by (online) amateur leagues and championships.
© 2015 Newzoo
powered by
CREATE
SHARE PRO
PRO
PRO
CONSUMER GENERATED CONTENT & DIRECT CONSUMER EARNINGS
“POWER TO THE PEOPLE”
ART/DESIGN
Made by “professionals”
MOVIES/GAMES
Made by “professionals”
ADVERTSING/MAIL
Made by “professionals”
Enabling Platforms & Tools
Curse, Twitch, Channels, Fundly, Instagram …
2015
eSports at the Nexus of Consumer Trends
Consumers want to Create, Share & Compete
2012
2014
2017
PRO
PRO
PRO
CGC
“PROSUMER”
2005
ART/DESIGN
MOVIES/GAMES
ADVERTISING/MAIL
© 2015 Newzoo
In the past ten years, how consumers “consume” content has drastically changed. People not only enjoy watching each other instead of professionally created content but they have the increasing desire to create, share and ultimately be part of the experience. The explosive growth of esports and the success of sharing game video content illustrates this more than anything else. In 2005, only 1% of consumers were considered creators or ”prosumers”. Ten years later, everyone creates and shares experiences and can earn serious money doing so.
EXPERIENCE
EXPERIENCE
SHARE
CREATE
www.newzoo.com
145
million
million
58
million
GLOBAL NUMBER OF ESPORTS ENTHUSIASTS
Report: Global Growth of Esports
Trends, Audience and Revenues Towards 2017
www.newzoo.com/esportsreport
The Esports Audience
Participants, Occasional and Frequent viewers
Occasionally watches professional and amateur competitive gaming
Regularly watches professional and amateur competitive gaming Watches & sometimes participates in (amateur) championships Watches & regularly
participates in (amateur) championships There are 205 million people globally that watch esports. These viewers can be divided into 4 distinct categories with occasional viewers as the largest group –117 million people. There are 56 million frequent viewers and 20 million that also play esports sometimes. There are a total of 13 million active esports participants across the globe. In the coming years, a rise in the awareness of esports will fuel growth in the number
Of all esports viewers
40%
do not play any of
the top esports franchises. Another sign that gaming is
becoming a spectator “sport”.
© 2015 Newzoo
Esports Enthusiasts
Occasional Viewers
Global Esports Audience in 2014
www.newzoo.com/esportsreport
FACT FROM FULL REPORT
Source: Newzoo’s Global Esports Audience and Revenue Model
13M
of viewers across these categories. To add to the potential audience size of esports is the fact that a large share of the current viewers do not actively play the franchises (anymore). It seems that esports video streams are
entertaining many lapsed game enthusiasts that have grown older but still have passion for games.
Growth in Audience & Revenues
Conservative scenario shows doubling of revenues towards 2017
Esports Audience Growth (Million)
For 2012, 2014 and 2017
Esports Revenue Growth ($Million)
For 2012, 2014 and 2017
CAGR: +20%
2012-2017
FREQUENT VIEWERS / ENTHUSIASTS
OCCASIONAL VIEWERS
GAME PUBLISHER INVESTMENT, SPONSORSHIPS, ONLINE
ADVERTISING MERCHANDISE, LICENSING, TICKETS
CAGR: +29%
2012-2017
$465
MILLION
Esports has been popular in Asia, Korea in particular, for over ten years. Thanks to the uptake of esports in the West, growth is now accelerating: both in terms of audience (CAGR+20%) and revenues (CAGR+29%). The full report gives full insight into regional growth for consumers with various levels of esports involvement. The report chooses a relatively conservative scenario for revenues but also points out, by a comparison with traditional sports, that revenues could surpass $1 billion within just a couple of years.
© 2015 N e w z o o
© 2015 N e w z o o
Source: Newzoo’s Global Esports Audience and Revenue Model
“At ESL we're all extremely passionate about esports. As the world's largest esports company, we aim to support the community move toward
achieving its full potential with every event we host. With legendary esports moments from all across the globe we are setting benchmarks and this is something we hope to be able to say for years to come ”.
Heinrich Zetlmayer,
Managing Director, ESL Global
QUOTE FROM FULL REPORT
Report: Global Growth of Esports
Trends, Audience and Revenues Towards 2017
www.newzoo.com/esportsreport
Key Components of (Professional) Competitive Gaming
e.g.
e.g.
e.g.
e.g.
e.g.
e.g.
© 2015 Newzoo
QUOTE FROM FULL REPORT
www.newzoo.com/esportsreport
“HyperX has been involved in esports
for almost a decade now and it's
always been an important part of
our company. Supporting gamers at
all levels has always been one of our
core principles and we have seen
explosive growth largely due to the
huge influx of new gamers coming
into the PC gaming market. Esports
becoming mainstream has been a
huge factor for our growth and we
are excited to see what the future
holds for us and the industry”.
Lawrence Yang,
Global Business Manager,HyperX
Sports and Esports Audiences Compare Well
Total # of sports fans equal gamers; Esports comparable to Ice Hockey
2.2Bn
1.7Bn
2.1Bn
Sports Fans Gamers
1.6Bn
Active in Sports
2014201720142014M
145M
94M
Ice Hockey
Esports Enthusiasts
20142017
2014
151M
American Football 2014All Sports
powered by
On a global scale, the number of esports enthusiasts
compares well to mid-tier traditional sports. Currently, the popularity of esports is on par with sports such as swimming and ice hockey. By 2017, the number of esports fans will come close to that of American football.
There are 2.2 billion people globally who consider themselves to be interested or very interested in sports.Of these, 1.6 billion actively participate in at least one sport –comparable to the number of people who play games (1.7 billion). The total amount of frequent esports viewers will total million globally this year and is anticipated grow to 145 million over the next three years.
Report: Global Growth of Esports
Trends, Audience and Revenues Towards 2017
All Gamers
Individual Sports
Esports Enthusiasts
vs.
vs.
© 2015 N e w z o o / R e p u c o m
© 2015 N e w z o o / R e p u c o m
REPORT PARTNER
“Repucom has been studying sport and entertainment fans across the world for decades, and there’s
never been a more exciting time for new formats which engage the next generation. This collaboration with Newzoo gives our clients a chance to see how far esports have
travelled already, and the potential value we can expect in the near future”.
Mike Wragg
Global Head of Research
repucom
On a global scale, 2 billion sports fans each generate an average of $56 per year across all sports, while esports enthusiasts generate $2.2 per person per year (without game revenues taken into account). In general, individual sports generate anything upwards of $20 per fan per year. The Global Growth of Esports report chooses a relatively conservative scenario for future revenues. This is based on audience growth combined with a slightly higher average revenue per fan of $3, still many factors lower than
sports. The image below shows that if this rises to $7 per fan, Esports would cross the $Bn mark in 2017, while it would take until 2020 in the conservative scenario. The full report shows more detailed sports data and talks about the key factors that will determine the speed of growth going forward.
Towards a Billion Dollar Esports Economy
Revenue per (e)sports fan indicates additional growth potential
Report: Global Growth of Esports
Trends, Audience and Revenues Towards 2017
TOTAL ESPORTS REVENUES
Esports Growth Scenarios
Based On Annual Revenue per Enthusiast
$1Bn
Report Scenario
Alternative Optimistic Scenario
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
20172018201920202021
$2
$3
$2$3$5
$7$15
$1.1Bn
$0.5Bn
$1.0Bn
$3.0Bn
$56
$20
All Sports Individual
Sports
2014 Revenue per
(e)sports Fan
$2
Esports
AVERAGE REVENUE PER ENTHUSIAST
Introduction
Key Trends in Games & Esports The Esports Audience
Global ®ional audience per type Esports audience growth 2012-2017 Demographics per region
The Esports Economy
Prize money trends The Esports value chain
Key teams, channels, publishers, events, leagues and sponsoring brands Publisher investment into Esports Esports Revenues
Revenue streams
Global & regional Esports revenue projections, split per revenue stream
Sports vs. Esports
Gaming & Esports versus all & individual sports on audience and revenues Value per viewer: sports vs. Esports Future potential of Esports Esports betting
Appendix
Data tables with revenue & audience data 2012-2017: Global & Regional
FULL REPORT CONTENT
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© 2015 N e w z o o / R e p u c o m
© 2015 Newzoo / Repucom
The Valuable Esports Enthusiast
Big spenders & heavy digital media consumers
The esports enthusiast is extremely valuable for big brands, digital media providers & headset manufacturers alike. Participants & viewers are more likely than the total population to have a Netflix or Spotify subscription, to have a high income, a full-time job and to shop more frequently. This target group is also much more likely than other gamers to spend big on the latest hardware devices including gaming peripherals.
53%
Has a full-time job
vs.
37% of the total population
30%
Is in the high income bracket
vs.
22% of the total population
41%
Owns an iPad
vs.
29% of the total population
29%
Has a headset budget over $100
vs.
13%of all gamers
2014 US DATA
QUOTE FROM FULL REPORT
Examples of Brands
That already are involved in esports
© 2015 Newzoo
“Esports is a major part of Intel's
marketing strategy with regard to gaming enthusiasts. They are web-savvy people who know exactly how to traditional marketing, do not watch TV, use ad block in their web browser and consume their
entertainment almost entirely on-demand. Our answer to this was to partner with ESL to create the Intel Extreme Masters, a series of competitions which visits every
corner of the world and has become one of the primary sources of
entertainment for millennials around the world. The Intel Extreme Masters has proven more than worth the spend for Intel ”.
George Woo,
Event Marketing Manager,Intel
The majority of global sports betting companies already offer esports betting. While the esports scene is still growing rapidly, the relatively unknown esports betting scene is sure to grow with it. In 2014, various start-ups focused solely on esports betting and fantasy leagues emerged. One of the biggest players in sports betting worldwide, Pinnacle, first began experimenting with esports betting in 2010 and the market has doubled in size for them for four consecutive years. In December 2014, they reached one million esport bets. This makes esports Pinnacle’s seventh biggest market in terms of volume, exceeding sports like golf and rugby. Recently, an esports championship in China witnessed a higher betting volume than a top Premier League soccer game.
Bookmakers
that support esports bets
Where There is Competition, There is Betting
Traditional forces and start-ups jump on this new betting niche
QUOTE FROM FULL REPORT
Esports Fantasy Leagues
are on the rise
Esports is Pinnacle’s 7th Biggest
market in terms of volume,
bigger than
Golf & Rugby
“eSports offers iGaming operators a new and exciting market that falls outside the traditional sports genre. Only a few of the
mainstream betting operators are fully taking advantage of eSports. Video footage covering the events is now more wildly accessible with the Twitch generation, making eSports a huge potential growth area for any large bookmaker ”.
Melissa Blau
CEO, iGaming Capital
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market research and consulting firm, 100% focused on the games industry. We aim to provide the best independent market data across all game segments and business models based on our proprietary market research projects in a broad range of
countries. Using our extensive network and deep involvement in the industry, we aim to stay ahead of the curve and at least two steps ahead of our competitors.
Newzoo works for the majority of top 25 public companies by game revenue, many independent game developers as well as a variety of global hardware and media companies.Newzoo’s headquarters are based in Amsterdam. It recently opened its first international office in Shanghai, China.Repucom is a global leader in sports marketing research. Utilizing the leading
technology and facilities for market research, market intelligence media evaluation and commercial auditing, Repucom has created the industry’s first global, full -service
portfolio for sports marketing research and consultancy.
The company provides a single, independent source of holistic market data and insights to help its clients achieve value in their marketing and sponsorship activities.Repucom draws on almost 30 years of
experience and accumulated insights. It has established itself as the research provider of choice for over 1,000 of the top rights
holders, brands, agencies and broadcasters in sports and entertainment worldwide.
Emma McDonald
PR & Marketing Manager Client Director, Newzoo emma@newzoo.com
Pieter van den Heuvel
Esports & Peripherals Market Analyst pieter@newzoo.com
Mike Wragg
Executive Vice President,
Global Head of Research, Repucom mwragg@repucom.net
Report Content
Full 68-page report
The Global Growth of Esports
Trends, Revenues, and Audience T owards 2017
Introduction
Key Trends in Games & eSports The eSports Audience
Global audience per type 2014)Global eSports audience growth The eSports enthusiast per region The eSports Economy
The eSports value chain
Prize money per organisation The value chain in detail
Publisher Investment into eSports Global investment into eSports by game publishers, 2012-2017
Publisher investment into eSports,2012 Global eSports Revenues
Global eSports revenue projections, split per revenue stream
eSports revenue projections split per region & per stream Sports vs. eSports
Revenues, Fans, Participants Appendix
Data Tables with Revenue / Audience Data 2012-2017, Global & Regional
