{"id":647,"date":"2017-05-31T12:40:01","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T16:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/engagingsports\/?p=647"},"modified":"2018-01-03T12:44:48","modified_gmt":"2018-01-03T17:44:48","slug":"are-esports-the-next-major-league-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/engagingsports\/2017\/05\/31\/are-esports-the-next-major-league-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"Are esports the Next Major League Sport?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Two basketball teams go head-to-head in an esports competition, with spectators cheering them on. (Photo: Dan Steinberg\/Invision for NBA 2K\/AP Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In late 2016, a sports championship event was held in Chicago, drawing 43 million viewers during the series finals. That was 12 million more people<\/a> than watched the 2016 NBA Finals.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t soccer, or football, or even the World Series of Poker. Instead, it was the \u201cLeague of Legends\u201d World Finals<\/a>, an esports competition.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Video games have been popular for more than 30 years, but competitive gaming, or esports, has recently emerged as a spectator activity that can draw thousands of attendees and viewers. Major sports networks such as ESPN<\/a>, Fox Sports<\/a>, MLB Advanced Media<\/a> and the Big Ten Network<\/a> have started broadcasting esports competitions, often partnering with major gaming companies like EA Sports, Riot and Blizzard. What is driving this phenomenon, and where is it taking us next?<\/p>\n

Wide popularity<\/h2>\n

At first glance, the idea seems crazy, particularly to older consumers. Why would anyone want to watch other people playing video games? As a researcher focused on user experiences with social media, I have been watching the esports phenomenon develop over the last few years. My current work, with Matthew Zimmerman from Mississippi State University, looks at why users watch esports. Our preliminary findings suggest that esports spectators often play the games themselves, using the viewing process as a way to learn more about the games in question and improve their own skills as players.<\/p>\n

In addition, many spectators take genuine pleasure in watching others play<\/a>, finding the competitive culture immersive and experiencing watching esports very similarly to how they watch traditional sports.<\/p>\n

Esports viewing has increased markedly over the past few years: The global market grew to US$696 million in 2016<\/a>, and may exceed $1 billion by 2019<\/a>. Media payments for rights to cover the events total nearly $100 million of that; consumers are paying $64 million for event tickets and merchandise. Most of the rest comes from advertising and sponsorship spending. The combined markets of China and North America account for more than half of global esports revenues<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A key attraction of esports is that regular people can play the very same games as the esports stars, often in real-time multiplayer tournaments. Millions of people play \u201cOverwatch,\u201d \u201cLeague of Legends\u201d and \u201cDota 2\u201d in their own homes, and many of them participate in collaborative games and battles on communal video game servers or networks such as Steam. Familiar with the games, eager to learn new techniques and excited to celebrate expertise, these at-home players are very interested in watching top-level players in action.<\/p>\n