Neilsen announces major study on eSports

The respected international research group Nielsen has released an in-depth, first of its kind research study of eSports fan attitudes and behaviours in the U.S. to feature data from streaming provider Twitch.

Nielsen combined survey-based attitudes and preference data with Twitch viewership and behaviour data from more than 2,000 U.S. eSports fans who viewed eSports content related to major titles like League of Legends, Overwatch League, Fortnite, and more over the past year.

Some of the high level insights from the Nielsen Esports study of the Twitch U.S. esports audience include:

* Twitch esports fans are well-seasoned with nearly 60 percent following esports for four or more years. In contrast, among the broader U.S. esports audience, only 1 in 5 have been following this long, with 23 percent new to esports within the past year.

* 50 percent of Twitch esports fans have a paid TV subscription service; less than 40 percent claim to view television on a weekly basis.

* 90 percent of Twitch esports fans can recall at least one non-gaming related sponsor within esports.

* Esports fans are more likely to spend time engaging with esports over traditional sports – Twitch fans significantly so, with 70 percent dedicating more time to esports than traditional.

* Over 60 percent of Twitch esports fans engage with gaming personalities on a daily basis, and nearly one in three viewed at least five hours of live Fortnite video content on Twitch in the past year.

“As we continue to support our esports clients, a common theme has been their need for an even more detailed view of the esports audience to support data-driven business decisions,” said Nicole Pike, Managing Director, Nielsen Esports. “Given Twitch’s depth of content and reach across esports properties, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them since this marks a natural evolution for our annual research.”

“Twitch caters to the many interests of gamers with esports among the more popular types of entertainment we offer,” said Andrea Garabedian, VP, Advertiser Marketing, Twitch. “By providing Nielsen with an opportunity to survey our community, they were able to surface data that reflects the passionate nature of our esports fans. Based on the amount of time these gamers spend on our service and their familiarity with the scene, from the games to the sponsors, it is clear that Twitch represents an ideal destination for brands trying to connect with this audience.”

Nielsen collected the Twitch Esports Fan data via an online survey deployed among a representative group of U.S.-based users from the Twitch Research Power Group (RPG). The Twitch RPG is Twitch’s proprietary panel comprised of over 50,000 Twitch viewers and allows the brand to instantly tap into the pulse of its community. Members of the Twitch RPG who opted into the survey ranged from ages 18-40. Along with the survey invitation, Twitch shared anonymized behavioural viewership data from survey respondents across top esports leagues/tournaments and 20 different game titles.

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