The esports industry has experienced tremendous growth in recent times. With viewership growing exponentially every year, it has contributed to the industry’s increase in revenue. It has led to many viewers joining sites like 호빠 to try their luck. Now, brands can reach a larger audience by simply investing in esports marketing. This post sheds light at the growing popularity of esports.
Boom in Viewership
One of the things that have happened since 2016 is a boom in esports viewership. There has been a huge increase in esports viewers. Not only do enthusiasts watch esports but just about everyone. In addition to this, the number of occasional viewers has also grown considerably year on year. The total audience of esports had reached an all-time high at 335 million in 2017 and the number grew to 380 million in 2018. By 2021, it is expected that the total audience for esports will increase to 557 million. Thus, it is clear that esports viewership is steadily growing every year. It has been largely due to YouTube and Twitch providing the ultimate platform for esports enthusiasts to view their favorite esports.
Rise in Esports Awareness
Gone are the days when only a handful of people knew what esports is. Now, just about everyone knows about esports or has heard about it. The main reason why there is an increase in popularity of esports is because people are realizing that is an amazing option. Esports awareness has increased since 2015. Back in the day, less than a million people even heard about it. Now, it is expected that over a billion people will tune into esports to keep up with the latest trends.
At present, esports awareness had reached 1.57 billion people and is only likely to continue increasing. As awareness and viewership grows, the industry will further see more revenue growth. Brands are taking advantaging of this increased awareness by adding esports to the marketing mix. With esports marketing, it is possible to expand your reach and achieve marketing objectives in no time.
Esports Platforms
The main reason why esports has become popular is due to the fact that there has been a rise in esports platforms that provide live esports coverage. With more online platforms simplifying content consumption, streamers can easily use these platforms to watch and even broadcast live coverage of the latest events. This makes it incredibly easy for enthusiasts to not only watch their favorite events but also engage with top players. The biggest platforms that have been at the forefront include YouTube and Twitch. The latter is used by over a million active streamers regularly and YouTube is quickly catching up.
Increase in Spending
Besides just watching esports, fans are also more likely to spend money to watch esports events and gain access to exclusive content. In 2019, people spent 6.6 billion hours on esports worldwide. With people spending more money on consuming content, more videos are being uploaded every hour to keep users hooked.
