Since eSports is one of the trendy business opportunities this year, let’s take a look at its potential today and in the coming years. The industry is still in its infancy with great commercial chances across several areas, such as:
- Infrastructure / Hosting
- Accessories / Merchandising
- Betting
- Training / Teaming-Up
- Events / Tournaments
- Streaming
- and much more…
In Newzoo’s 2017 report on the eSports market they predict growth rates of almost 36% CAGR till 2020 to roughly €1,3 billion globally. Well that’s not huge but don’t forget that the amount of market-players is rather small compared to other more mature, saturated markets. Following to the report, today the majority (51%) of eSports enthusiasts – that’s the frequent watchers – is in APAC, with a forecasted global audience growth of roughly 20% CAGR till 2020 to 589 million fans; thereof 303 million occasional viewers. An important metric in this space, like across the entire Media & Entertainment vertical, is the total revenue per fan. The US National Foodball League (NFL) – which is the most commercial league globally – generates €37,80 per fan. The average revenue per eSports-fan in 2017 is expected to be €3,15 and €4,50 by 2020. But there are big regional differences between Europe, NA, etc. So take a look at the entire report for more details:
To summarize some key takeaways, I would also like to bring in a few facts from Business Insider:
- eSports is still a nascent industry
- It is undervalued at the moment
- Potential revenue streams are widely spread across the entire space
- Traditional sport clubs have great opportunities to enter the market, although the markets/target groups differ
- VR and AR companies are predicted to benefit greatly from eSports
If you are interested in business opportunities within eSports and/or eGaming, feel free to reach out to me. Same if you’re planning to launch an eSports/eGaming business or would like to discuss go-to-market approaches.
Cheers,
Sebastian