eSports Playing to win?

One of the stand-out content verticals that is garnering massive attention – from consumers as well as from the telemedia sector – is gaming, especially esports. Paul Skeldon reports

Gaming has become a massive chunk of the broader entertainment market and it has also become a lucrative vertical for the telemedia sector. Now, the combination of gaming and watching gaming – the vertical known as eSports – is set to be even more pivotal to the sector.

According to Statista, the eSports market worldwide is projected to reach a revenue of $3.8bn in 2023. This is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2023-2027) of 9.54%, resulting in a projected market volume of $5.4bn by 2027.

The US generates the most revenue in the eSports market, with a projected market volume of US$871m in 2023.

In terms of user base, the eSports market is expected to have a total of 865.2 million users by 2027. This user penetration rate is projected to be 11.4% in 2023 and is expected to increase to 13.9% by 2027.

The rise of competitive gaming in South Korea has solidified the country as a global powerhouse in the eSports market.

Telemedia company Cookies

Digital has been quick to recognise this surge in interest in eSports as it taps into the growing need for entertainment and high quality, high-turnover content.

“It is a rich mix of long and short-form content, tailored to local markets,” says Valentina Tranquilli, founder of Cookies Digital. “The content has to be localised, but so too does the market- ing. We use local influencers to promote our content – whether the content is local or not – with a lot of local UGC being created to push the services.”

BETTER, YOU BET

While there is a huge appetite for eSports content, the largest market segment in eSports market is eSports Betting, with a market volume of $2.1bn in 2023, believes Statista.

This growth area is not only a boon content markets, but it also could prove pivotal for carrier billing. Currently, many of the markets where eSports is most popular rely on carrier billing for payments to watch and engage with the content. However, carrier billing is also likely to be the most effective way to onboard those that want to bet on eSports.

As it constitutes betting on the outcome of an event, it relies on bookmakers to run the bets and many of these firms are already using DCB to on-board users. The expansion into eSports betting – especially in markets underserved by credit card – could well see an explosion in use of this payment tool, as well as the rise of eSports content.

Consumer appetite for cloud gaming represents a major opportunity for… Netflix?

There is a growing interest in cloud gaming worldwide and, while Microsoft is making a big play for it, it could be Netflix that reaps the rewards.

Research from Savanta reveals one third (33%) of committed gamers across seven global markets have already used a cloud gaming service, alongside 10% of casual gamers. 82% of those who have tried cloud gaming are likely to use it again and the current uptake of cloud gaming services is highest in Spain (35%) and the USA (32%), and lowest in France (16%).

While nearly 44% of ‘non-passionate’ gamers and 26% of passionate gamers weren’t aware of cloud gaming prior to taking the survey, the concept is appealing. Of those yet to try it, Spanish gamers are most open to doing so (44%), followed by the USA (36%) and the UK (30%).

Shaun Austin, senior vice president media at Savanta, says: “Committed gamers, the audience Microsoft is targeting with its mooted $69bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard. However, 70% of our sample play mainly on their smartphone and over half (52%) prefer freemium games. The potential in this segment has certainly not been lost on Netflix. It has recently announced it is extending its offer from downloadable mobile games to a fully-fledged cloud gaming service, which will be accessible through connected TVs and laptops.”

Netflix soft-launched gaming downloads through its mobile app in November 2021. A fifth (22%) of Savanta’s sample have already downloaded at least one game, and the majority (77%) would likely do so again. Nearly half (45%) of those who had not previously heard about Netflix games would use the current service.

Austin concludes: “Games represent sticky content for a platform likely to be hit hard both by the cost-of-living-crisis and the Writers’ Strike. Moreover, Netflix’s IP in the gaming space could offer a host of brand extension opportunities, including product placement, for brand advertisers. Customers don’t need to give anything up, rather they have all to gain. If 45% of Netflix’s global audience of 238 million gives gaming a go, then Netflix could become a major force in cloud gaming space.”