Over 6 billion hours of esports watched in 2016 - Sensationalist Headlines

[IMG]https://vgy.me/V2PyBF.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://vgy.me/wMQuJQ.jpg[/IMG] [QUOTE]A new report from British analytics firm IHS Markit—which specializes in technology and media, among others—details a number of important findings on the esports industry. The report includes figures on the growth of esports, along with challenges that the industry is facing as it continues to grow. Among the findings is the fact that 6 billion hours of esports were watched last year, a 19 percent rise from 2015. More importantly, however, is how big the Chinese esports market is—per the report, Chinese audiences accounted for 57 percent of all esports viewership last year with 11.1 billion video streams delivered. Compare that to North America, the second-biggest market, with just 2.7 billion streams. Another detail released in the report shows how advertising in esports is growing massively—$280 million was spent on advertising in esports in 2016, and should grow to over $1 billion by 2021. IHS Markit released this report, in part, to promote its Media and Technology Conference, which begins tomorrow. Scheduled sessions include esports topics, but also delve into more general media topics including streaming, digital content, and UHD.[/QUOTE] [URL="http://esportsobserver.com/over-6-billion-hours-of-esports-watched-in-2016-according-to-ihs-markit/"]The Esports Observer[/URL]

whats the next largest form of entertainment?

it's still not a sport

Esport is becoming bigger and bigger, wouldn't surprise me if we start seeing it more shown or mention in mainstream (TV-canals, live streaming, etc). The streaming sites (twitch, ESL, youtube, etc) we have now have already grown exponential.

[QUOTE=bull3tmagn3t;52218315]it's still not a sport[/QUOTE] It will only be a sport when the players cheat on their wives. Trick question: they will never get wives, so it will never be a sport kek [sp]hooray for nerds can't get girlfriends jokes...[/sp]

[QUOTE=Rocâ„¢;52218793]It will only be a sport when the players cheat on their wives. Trick question: they will never get wives, so it will never be a sport kek [sp]hooray for nerds can't get girlfriends jokes...[/sp][/QUOTE] BOY [t]https://img.fireden.net/vg/image/1459/29/1459298432733.jpg[/t] [URL="https://i0.wp.com/thegamehaus.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Pasha-Biceps-2.jpg"]daddy biceps[/URL]

[QUOTE=Psycho9182;52219142]BOY [t]https://img.fireden.net/vg/image/1459/29/1459298432733.jpg[/t] [URL="https://i0.wp.com/thegamehaus.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Pasha-Biceps-2.jpg"]daddy biceps[/URL][/QUOTE] He looks like an extra from Goodfellas that inevitably gets whacked because Robert De Niro wants to cover his tracks.

I really hope it grows to the size of traditional sports one day, if nothing else to a comparable level. Watching high level matches is fascinating, even for titles you don't play yourself. I think there will always be a barrier of entry in having to enjoy video games yourself, as it's nowhere near as ingrained into our culture as traditional sports. Someone who otherwise has never played video games can never really grasp WHY a high level player is so mechanically intelligent. If it were to ever happen, i'd say it requires an entire generational shift. It's something you cant brute force into the big picture over the next few years, you've got to consistently let it expand with time.

[QUOTE=Zero!;52218327]Esport is becoming bigger and bigger, wouldn't surprise me if we start seeing it more shown or mention in mainstream (TV-canals, live streaming, etc). The streaming sites (twitch, ESL, youtube, etc) we have now have already grown exponential.[/QUOTE] Esports on TV is a hard sell because TV-style adverts just don't work unless you're willing to adapt the whole programming for it to fit in. Eleague was solid, but when you got channels wanting to run ads every 20 minutes, it's hard. And really, streaming websites are what TV strives to be nowadays anyway - just look at netflix, for example.

[QUOTE=Ogris;52219989]Esports on TV is a hard sell because TV-style adverts just don't work unless you're willing to adapt the whole programming for it to fit in. Eleague was solid, but when you got channels wanting to run ads every 20 minutes, it's hard. And really, streaming websites are what TV strives to be nowadays anyway - just look at netflix, for example.[/QUOTE] Forgive me not understanding, but how does football work then? You have two halfs of uninterrupted 45 minutes, you can't really run ads before or after that. Another thing is time slots. A football game always lasts at least 90 minutes, up to 120 with over time and penalties. A CS game could last anywhere between 20 minutes to like >90 for one map.

[QUOTE=Psycho9182;52219142]BOY [t]https://img.fireden.net/vg/image/1459/29/1459298432733.jpg[/t] [URL="https://i0.wp.com/thegamehaus.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Pasha-Biceps-2.jpg"]daddy biceps[/URL][/QUOTE] Theres also the spoiler, but hey lets not read it, right?

[QUOTE=Lollipoopdeck;52207259]whats the next largest form of entertainment?[/QUOTE] Pornography.