E-sports remains a good bet, says research firm

The independent research company Newzoo remains bullish about the eSports vertical, predicting in its latest study that the genre will gross $1.7 billion in revenues by 2021, and suggesting that by that time every major U.S. media conglomerate will have eSports media rights in their portfolio.

“U.S. media conglomerates such as Disney, Comcast, and AT&T are already looking into content rights for eSports,” the researcher notes.

“As these companies look to entice younger consumers, they will become even more active in the scene. We expect these companies to not only feature eSports on their linear media platforms, as seen with the Overwatch League on Disney XD, but also on non-linear live-streaming platforms, such as Disney’s upcoming streaming service.”

The researcher posits that eSports growth has the potential to surpass traditional sports revenue, observing:

“Gaming as a whole, including eSports, is already on track to become a bigger industry than traditional professional sports. We expect that the global games market will generate revenues of $180.1 billion by 2021, and eSports will be a major driver of this, with many brands investing in eSports to appeal to younger demographics.

“As more companies get involved and consumers spend more time watching eSports content outside of the competitions themselves, eSports will generate much growth within the global games industry.”

Newzoo expects that the global eSports sector will be worth $906 million by end 2018, up from $605 million last year. North America will lead the international market, providing $345 million of this, followed by China at $164 million. Brand investments are expected to hit $694 million worldwide this year, compared with $468 million last.

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