Tuning in: Esports vs Sports Viewership shifts further going into 2024

Twenty years ago, if you told someone that you wanted to swap the channel from watching a football game to watching someone play video games, they would probably have called you crazy. However, times have changed. Everyone that has a passion for gaming now has split their preferences on watching competitions.

Esports viewership continues to rival that of traditional sporting events. It may even outpace sports audiences within the next decade. This has been a wake-up call for sports clubs to evolve with their younger audiences’ times and tastes. Not only are video games no longer seen as a hobby, they are now seen as a viable career path for competitive play a massive industry.

There is still a lot to do to catch up to traditional sports when it comes to viewership and interest, but things are slowly pacing towards that moment. The massive shift in esports vs sports viewership audience focus on esports content is now forcing traditional sports organizations to work on ways to engage the esports audience, and attract fandom with new and innovative ventures.

All because of passion!
Let’s be honest, where esports is standing today would not happen if the community is not as passionate. Esports is a phenomenon created by its fanbase. People who are proud to call themselves gamers and fans!

Esports events started in small venues, with only a few dozen or a few hundred people at best. Today, esports has the potential to fill up even the biggest stadiums and venues. The Beijing National Stadium, The Staples Center and Incheon Stadium have all hosted events in-front of packed arenas.

Credit: MLBB Esports

Of course, live viewers are not the only measurement, and when it comes to online views, they are more significant than ever. In 2023, there were many events that people have tuned in and watched through their screens. The record breakers last year were:

M5 World Championship in Mobile Legends raised that bar even higher by having a peak viewership of 5.06 million viewers.
The 2023 League of Legends World Championship had a peak viewership of 6.4 million viewers.

Notable big viewership events from previous years include:

Free Fire World Series 2021 Singapore had the most extensive peak viewership of the year, with an incredible 5.41 million concurrent viewers across various platforms.
2021 League of Legends World Championship had a peak viewership of 4.01 million.
PUBG Mobile Global Championship Season 0 had an impressive 3.8 million peak viewership.
M2 World Championship had a peak viewership of 3.08 million viewers.
M3 World Championship raised that bar even higher by having a peak viewership of 3.19 million viewers.

It is worth noting that these numbers do not even include China. However, this is no surprise, as esports covers quite a broad spectrum of genres. Like traditional sports, players can compete in all kinds of things. Whether you are a fan of golf, first-person shooters, fighting games, raiding, whatever genre of gaming exists, there is an event that will haul in thousands of viewers and attendees.

Not only that esports opens its doors to various interests, but it also opens its doors to anyone. It does not matter where you come from, and it does not matter what gender you are. As long as you have a passion and dedication to the games, you can be a part of the esports community or thrive as a professional player.

Esports news are now a separate category, and over 50 countries including South Korea, China, Denmark, and Russia officially consider esports to be a sport.

Sports Fans with Controllers
The esports phenomenon is often misunderstood. After all, who would spend time and money to watch someone else play video games? The same kind of people attend the opening day of their favorite sports team and admire athletes at the top of their game. Esports is unique because it is both accessible to external audiences and hardcore gamers. Even if you don’t play or play well, you can enjoy others’ skills and live vicariously through them.

Like traditional sports, competitive video games offer a range of titles to choose from, and each audience is different. After all, not all soccer fans watch golf or shock-put competitions. There is an audience for everyone in esports, whether you prefer shooters, dungeon raiding, card collecting strategy, or yes, even farm simulation. Virtual sports are another niche which has gained immense popularity during the pandemic.

Esports also offer a chance for men, women, and other gender identities to compete on the same playing field. Gaming requires skill, attitude, and teamwork that are not dependent on physical attributes.

Mobile Games Esports peak viewership numbers for 2023 – Data Source: Esports Charts

Putting the “Sports” in “Esports”
When the word sport is mentioned, a lot would think about hard physical workouts and preparation to compete at a tournament, but sports are more than that. While physical practice is critical in many sports, mental preparation plays an even more significant factor in even more sports. The same can be said for esports.

In order to perform on the stage, for high stakes, players deal with a great deal of mental and physical exertion. The stereotype of the overweight game is long gone, as various esports organizations embraced the traditional saying of “A healthy body leads to a healthy mind,” and they are making sure that their players are in top shape, both physically and mentally.

Additionally, something that is often misunderstood, a stigma, is that no one would invest in the esports scene from a global scale and that no one outside its “small” fandom cares about it. Well, while that might have been true ten years ago, today, a lot of big companies recognize the potential of esports, and it is not rare to see esports events sponsored by them.

Long gone are the days when sponsors were only companies that produced items related to gaming, like Logitech, Razer, Intel, and so on. Today, it is not unusual to see companies like Audi, BMW, KIA, Monster Energy, Red Bull, FTX, DC Comics, and many more sponsor various esports organizations to promote their brand further.

KitKat just renewed their partnership for League of Legends in Europe for another 3-years until 2027

Esports vs Sports viewership into the future
Global esports revenues will grow another five fold to ~$12 billion by 2030. As always, most of that figure — in this case, 75 percent — will come from media rights and sponsorships. Brands want to get eyes on their products and services, and it makes sense to keep making deals when sporting events and esports move online.

From 2019 until 2024, the number of people watching livestream gaming content rose from 593.2 million to 1.05 billion. These numbers are starting to beat out entire sports industries, and will soon start to compete with big traditional sports.

As we all head into the rest of 2024, traditional sports will likely be forever impacted by esports. Everything from Formula One to the NBA, NHL, Football and even athletics is now going virtual. We are confident pure esports and sports sims are going to surpass most traditional sports by the end of the decade.

With Counter-Strike 2 out, League of Legends at its peak, and Mobile Games taking over, we can expect some events to break the 7 million peak viewers barrier this year.