Report Finds 71% Of Esports Fans Watch Only One Game
Published: Aug 27, 2019 - Last Updated: Jan 20, 2023
Newzoo’s latest Global Esports Market Report is some fascinating reading. But here’s the real headline: 71 percent of esports fans watch only one game.
Esports’ Insularity?
We’ve long assumed that fans of titles like Overwatch, CS:GO, Call of Duty, Dota 2, and League of Legends are interested across these various games.
But new research suggests that in the majority of cases, this is simply not the case. Fans’ interest in esports often remains focused on one particular esport.
In its survey, Newzoo reported on Viewer Ovelap for Overwatch, League of Legends, and CS:GO and compared viewers of one, two or all three titles from a sample of fans from across North America and Europe.
Surprisingly, the results showed polarity. Only six percent of fans asked followed all three esports in one form or another. Only six percent followed Overwatch and CS:GO, eight percent followed League of Legends and Overwatch, and nine percent followed CS:GO and League of Legends. Just 29 percent of respondents followed more than one esport.
However, the figures jump greatly when looking at one esport. Twenty-nine percent of fans were only interested in League of Legends. Then, 25 percent were solely focused on CS:GO, while 17 percent focused only on Overwatch.
What is particularly impactful, especially for those invested in the esports industry and esports betting, is the fact that even though Overwatch and CS:GO are shooter games, only six percent of respondents showed an interest in both.
Implications?
The implications of these findings for those with an interest in esports and the esports industry are clear. For example, if you are operating an esports betting site such as Betway Esports, Bet365 Esports or Unikrn, then targeting advertising at, say, League of Legends betting fans, is only likely to attract that particular demographic and is unlikely to draw in fans of other esports.
A similar situation is true for any esports business that operates across multiple esports. A blanket approach for ‘all esports’, whether in terms of advertising, promotions or other material is going to be less cost-effective than targeting fans of each individual esport.
The future?
Going forward, as esports continues to grow and new esports develop alongside the existing games, it is going to be interesting to see whether fans devotion to one particular esports remains, or whether the trend in future years will be for more esports fans to show an interest in more than one particular esport.
For now, you can keep yourself up to date with all the latest news on your favorite esports titles and the latest esports betting by following the links. Read also our guides for Overwatch betting, CSGO betting and Dota 2 bets.
Image courtesy of Riot Games | Report by Newzoo.
Since: August 10, 2015
