EsportsGrace

Esports is a lucrative and rapidly expanding sector. It’s predicted that the total esports audience will grow from 395m to 580m (2016-2021) <ref name="Newzoo Eighteen">https://newzoo.com/insights/articles/newzoos-esports-consumer-predictions-for-2021-a-quarter-of-the-worlds-population-will-be-aware-of-esports/</ref>. In 2017, European audiences reached 77million. By 2021, its expected that a quarter of the world’s population will be aware of esports.

Money-wise, the global esports market is set to grow from $630m (2017) to $1.6bn (2022). As a result, its no surprise that U.S. media conglomerates such as Disney, Comcast, and AT&T are looking into content rights for esport. South Korean esports network OGN announced in 2018 that it planned to invest $100million to broadcast esports events in North America. 74% of the industry is sponsorship and advertising compared to 9% being prize money To understand the scale, the total prize money of all esports events held in 2017 reached $112 million, breaking the $100 million mark for the first year.

By the 3rd financial quarter of 2017, over 100 brands had invested into esports.

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