eSports
Esports Exposure Exploding During COVID-19 Outbreak
Esports was already a booming business coming into 2020. Last year, Esports topped $1 billion in revenue for the first time. That was a 26.7% increase from 2018.
A sure sign of the growth in the popularity of Esports is shown by the fact that its highest-grossing revenue stream in 2019 was in the area of sponsorship. According to a published report, there was nearly $457 million generated in sponsor money by Esports last year.
Esports leagues and tournaments are drawing huge audience numbers. Estimates were that almost 454 million took in an Esport event last year. Those are the kinds of numbers that encourage major corporate sponsorship of the events.
COVID-19 Impact
The outbreak of the coronavirus has led to another spike in popularity among Esports. In North America, the NHL, NBA and MLB halted their seasons. The NCAA men’s basketball tournament was canceled. Golf and tennis also stopped playing. The launch of NFL and NCAA football seasons in the fall remain uncertain.
Around the globe, almost of the world soccer shut down. The European Champions League and the English Premier League took a hiatus. Euro 2020 and the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics were postponed.
With all of the major sporting leagues forced to shut down due to the COVID-19 virus and the accompanying bans on large gatherings, there’s little in the way of sports to entertain the masses. Sports fans were left desperate for an outlet. Sports networks sought out programming. Sportsbooks looking for other forms of betting turned their attention to writing more wagers around Esports events.
Esports are stepping up and proving capable of filling the void. While not completely bereft from feeling the impact of COVID-19 – the large tournament events held in halls filled with spectators watching video game team competitions such as Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty and Dota 2 are currently not permitted.
The Overwatch League is playing its entire 2020 season online. Play! Pokémon canceled its North American International Championship and World Championship.
However, the ability of Esports to adapt and be played by players under quarantine is giving them a leg up on actual sports.
Industry estimates are that the demand for Esports has increased by 300% since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Big League Sports Entering The Fray
Virtual sports are also a big part of the Esports explosion. Competition in soccer, basketball, tennis, horse and greyhound racing are among the many virtual sports on offer.
There are events built around tournaments in such popular sports-themed video games as Madden NFL, NBA 2K20, FIFA, and NHL 20.
The major sports leagues already recognized the potential for virtual spots as a revenue growth stream. Both the NBA and NHL began holding tryouts to pick players to form virtual versions of their actual teams that would eventually compete in simulated leagues.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, the big leagues are looking to get in on the Esports explosion and keep their sports going at the same time.
NASCAR has been holding the eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series, where actual NASCAR drivers compete in races as their virtual selves. The simulations are carried live by Fox Sports and are proving to be a big hit with racing fans.
NascarPro Invitational iRacing Series (Photo by: YouTube.com screenshot).
The Nielsen ratings for the first event of the iRacing Series came in at an average of 638,000 households and 903,000 viewers, making it the most-watched Esports event of all-time.
By comparison, live NASCAR racing during the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series averaged 2.1 million viewers per race. NASCAR’s iRacing ratings are almost on par with the 2019 numbers for viewers of their second-tier racing competition, the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Those races averaged 725,000 homes and 948,000 viewers.
Formula One is also contesting virtual Grand Prix races, with its drivers racing as their virtual selves. Australian SuperCars competition is doing likewise.
Other sports also are holding Esports competitions to give their fans a regular fix during the coronavirus quarantine. The NFL organized a Madden tournament featuring eight current NFL players. The NBA put together an NBA 2K20 tournament with 16 current players in action.
The most ambitious of these virtual sports simulations is currently being undertaken by Major League Baseball. An MLB The Show competition is pitting 30 of today’s MLB players, each representing their own team.
They are playing a 29-game regular season, facing each other player once. The top eight players will qualify for postseason play, which will lead to a virtual World Series champion being crowned.
Other sports have opted to take their Esports competitions in an entirely different direction. With the Australian National Rugby League season on hold, instead of their slated match, members of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Wests Tigers competed in a game of Fortnite that was live-streamed on both team’s Facebook pages.
Esports Future Bright
During the 2004-05 lockout that wiped out the entire NHL season, poker utilized that opportunity to fill the broadcasting void left by no hockey and became a television staple.
COVID-19 has created a similar opportunity for Esports to grow exponentially and gain a foothold with a mainstream sports audience that might not have given it a second thought otherwise.
Esports was growing rapidly regardless. As one of the few sports still currently playing, its already bright future is blossoming with significantly more glow.
PlayVS, the leading esports platform in North America, announced a multi-year partnership with Zenni Optical, the world’s leading online eyewear retailer. This partnership establishes Zenni as the official eyewear partner of PlayVS, bringing exclusive benefits to PlayVS’ esports community.
As part of this collaboration, Zenni will serve as the official eyewear partner of the PlayVS Cup, the annual national esports championship for high school students. The Cup provides top scholastic esports teams from across the country with an opportunity to compete for a national title and earn recognition and awards, including college scholarships. Zenni’s partnership will help power scholarship prizes for Cup finalists, furthering PlayVS’ dedication to empowering students and supporting their educational and athletic ambitions. These scholarships not only aid with alleviating financial strain, but also highlight esports as a viable pathway to academic and professional success.
Zenni’s eyewear will also be included in the prize packages that PlayVS Cup champions and PlayVS Awards winners receive, providing students with high quality eyewear to complement their gaming performance. Additionally, Zenni will offer members of the PlayVS community exclusive discounts on eyewear.
“We are excited to partner with PlayVS and expand our ongoing support of the gaming and esports community. Empowering a dedicated high school esports program that not only will generate awareness around the importance of eye health to a new generation of gamers but also support their academic pursuits is such an amazing opportunity for Zenni to partner with,” said Robb Chiarini, Head of Partnerships, Licensing, & Events at Zenni Optical.
Through this partnership, Zenni will also be integrated into PlayVS’ content series, Road to the PlayVS Cup, a set of videos showcasing different esports programs across the nation as they compete to earn a spot in the PlayVS Cup.
“Partnering with Zenni is a natural fit for us as we continue to grow the high school esports community. Zenni shares our commitment to supporting students in both esports and academics. By joining forces with Zenni, we’re empowering students with scholarships and enabling them to partake in healthy competition to foster their esports careers. We’re excited to work together and bring Zenni’s eyewear to our community of gamers,” said Jon Chapman, CEO of PlayVS.
The post PlayVS Announces Multi-year Partnership with Zenni Optical appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Genius Sports Limited has signed new partnerships with Bayes Esports and GRID Esports (GRID) to provide sportsbooks with the highest-quality official esports offering.
GRID, as the only game data platform directly working with the game publishers will provide Genius Sports with exclusive access to official live esports data from League of Legends, and VALORANT, the fastest-growing betting esports title, alongside Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six data, and a robust portfolio of CS2 and Dota2 data from the global tournaments by BLAST and Champion of Champions.
Genius Sports’ sportsbook partners will also be able to access official streaming and data visualizations powered by official GRID data.
Bayes Esports is helping power Genius Sports’ esports offering with its highly granular Live Match Data. As the exclusive data partner of key esports tournament organisers such as ESL FACEIT Group, Bayes Esports covers the majority of official live data for Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 esports, which brings in some of the highest revenue for sportsbooks.
Genius Sports will further enhance its offering with Bayes Esports’ data product suite, including low-latency video and live data-powered widgets. Select Genius Sports products will be available through Bayes Esports’ distribution in return.
Going forward, Genius Sports will provide sportsbooks worldwide with an end-to-end esports trading product across pre-match and in-play, powered by ultra low-latency data to guarantee sharp odds and maximum market uptime. Through this product, sportsbooks can unlock new revenues by reaching a highly engaged audience with high-octane, year-round content.
“We are thrilled to announce these new partnerships with Bayes and GRID, two leaders in their field, to create an unrivalled esports content suite for our sportsbook partners. As the new home of esports for sportsbooks, we will provide our partners with the highest-quality data and odds on the most prestigious titles in the sport,” said Matt Stephenson, Global Partnerships Director at Genius Sports.
The post Genius Sports Signs Partnerships with Bayes Esports and GRID appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has announced that DACH CS GmbH (DACH CS), a tournament organiser seeking to revitalise competitive Counter-Strike in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, has officially joined ESIC membership.
By joining ESIC, DACH CS commits to upholding the highest standards of competitive integrity. The membership requires the league to implement ESIC’s Integrity Programme across all of its tournaments, tackling key issues such as match-fixing, cheating, and doping, fostering a culture of fair play within the region.
As an ESIC member, DACH CS will integrate ESIC’s codes of conduct, actively cooperate in investigations, and enforce ESIC’s rulings. This commitment aligns DACH CS with global best practices, ensuring that the DACH Counter-Strike esports scene operates with a proven integrity framework.
Stephen Hanna, Chief Executive Officer of ESIC, said: “DACH CS’s dedication to rebuilding and strengthening the competitive Counter-Strike scene in the DACH region makes them a valuable addition to ESIC’s growing membership. Their commitment to competitive integrity and fair competition aligns perfectly with our mission to safeguard esports. We look forward to working closely with them to support a sustainable and transparent ecosystem for players, teams, and stakeholders in the region.”
Anton Christoph, Founder & Managing Director of DACH CS, said: “At DACH CS, we’re on a mission to take the Counter-Strike Scene in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland to old and new heights! We’re super excited to be joining forces with ESIC, as we’re confident that this is a vital step in keeping our community’s most prized values at the heart of our operations. By teaming up with ESIC and aligning with their globally recognised integrity standards, we’re making a promise to you, our players, teams and stakeholders, to provide a competitive environment that’s both trusted and well-structured. We are excited to work closely with ESIC to build a sustainable and respected esports landscape in the DACH region.”
The post DACH CS Joins as Member of Esports Integrity Commission appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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