eSports viewership and revenues have grown significantly in the past few years and look set to continue growing rapidly.

The rapid growth and the much-coveted millennial viewer base has caught the eye of traditional broadcasters who are looking at ways to explore this new content genre.

But has the eSports ‘gravy train’ already left the station?

In our eSports part 1 report: “The eSports economy – it’s just getting started” we discussed how competitively played video games are experiencing rapid growth and that global eSports revenues are set to exceed US$1bn in 2019, spurred on by a fast-expanding and much coveted audience demographic. In this regard, it is not surprising then that engaging the hard-to-reach millennial demographic is appealing to a variety of traditional media players as demonstrated by investments from major media corporations, advertisers and professional sports teams to name a few. In part 2 we discuss the appeal of eSports to broadcasters, the Australian eSports ecosystem and its size in terms of revenues, and the potential pitfalls and challenges for broadcasters.

Contents

Key Takeaways

Introduction

Australian eSports market

• Size of the Australian eSports market

The Australian eSports ecosystem

Traditional TV – the appeal of eSports

• The audience opportunity
• Social Engagement Factor
• Complimentary to traditional live sports

eSports and Broadcasters – a bridge too far?

Tech giants have a massive lead…

eSports and Broadcasters – to TV or not to TV?

• Postscript: Will 5G help Australian Telcos to tap into the eSports opportunity?

List of charts/tables

Figure 1. Revenue split 2018 actuals and 2022 forecasts

Figure 2. eSports ecosystem

Figure 3. eSports audience demographics