The eSports User Manual
How to engage with the world's fastest growing sports audience
In the year 2000, a South Korean TV channel (OGN) aired a video game called StarCraft. For 24 hours a day, seven days a week, anyone could tune in to watch the military science fiction-based strategy game where people built their own armies to demolish foreign forces.At that moment, a new spectator sport was introduced to an audience unaware that eSports competitions had long been raging in hotel ballrooms, PC parlours, and across rudimentary internet streams.Today, eSports has risen to the level of revolution. In 2014, 27 million viewers watched the League of Legends World Finals online (in 2015 that number rose to 36 million) and a 40,000 seat stadium in Korea was packed with fans there to witness the event in person. In the U.S., the ESL One tournament sold out the Madison Square Theater.In case you’ve missed it, eSports is huge.The skyrocketing growth of this video gaming subculture is thanks to the fervent passion of hundreds of millions of eSports fans around the world and the technology that allows them to consume, share and experience eSports online and at live events. From spectators to players, teams and leagues, this complex ecosystem is attracting a massive worldwide audience.That includes some of the most discerning demographics: the young millennial male and the burgeoning audience of female fans and players.We are at a turning point in the massive growth of eSports. Brands, creators and investors can still seize territory in the wild west of eSports, but they need to do it now. Most importantly, it has to be done in a way that resonates authentically with the eSports community.The only question is: are you ready to be part of this cultural phenomenon?To get you started, we’ve gathered expert insights and actions so you can take hold of this unprecedented expansion of a new global sport.
The eSports User Manual: How to engage with the world's fastest growing sports audience
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