Professional Documents
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The Rise of A New Entertainment Category Esports
The Rise of A New Entertainment Category Esports
James Fong
Chief Research Officer, UPCEA
Director, UPCEA Center for Research and Strategy
Brian Trench
Research Assistant, UPCEA
March 2019
● The market size for esports is expected to rise to $2.96 billion by 2022, much of which is in the
form of sponsorships, betting, prize pools, merchandise, event revenues and tournament fees
and admission, and advertising.
● Blue-chip brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jack in the Box, Intel, Snickers, and the Coca-Cola
Company have all sponsored numerous esports tournaments for exposure to specific target
audiences.
● Prominent figures including Michael Jordan, Mark Cuban, Steph Curry, and Steve Young have
made substantial investments into esports, realizing the extension and parallels it has to sporting
events.
● The development of franchise-based leagues, similar to those in professional sports leagues such
as the NFL, is in its infancy, but this evolution is critical for the future-growth of esports.
● Over 100 universities have started esports teams which they use as a differentiating factor for
attracting potential students.
● Esports gambling is expected to see large growth, from $315 million wagered in 2015 to $23.5
billion predicted in 2020.
● Mobile revenues accounted for half of the global games market in 2018. Experts predict that
mobile esports will begin to grow in popularity as a generation of individuals who grew up with
cellphones and tablets comes of age.
● Sponsorship revenue for esports is expected to grow from $266 million in 2017 to $655 million in
2020 as companies attempt to reach the 10-35-year-old demographic which makes up 76% of
esports fans.
● In the first six months of 2018, venture investment in organized professional competitive video
gaming reached $701 million over 60 deals, representing a 73% increase in funds compared to
the same period in 2017.
● In 2018, there were 11,109 total job postings and 2,788 unique job postings with the word
“esports” in the description. These jobs include marketing managers, software developers,
applications, and computer occupations.
● In September of 2018 there were 1,298 active job postings compared to only 207 in September
2016.
● Companies with the most job postings with “esports” in the description include the Madison
Square Garden Company (venue), Walt Disney Company (entertainment), and Activision Blizzard
(technology/software).
● The top job titles in terms of job postings with the word “esports” include software engineers,
product managers (management), and marketing managers (management).
● The top hard skills for postings with esports in the description included scalability, Amazon Web
Services, and software engineering; however, the industry will also create and impact jobs in
marketing, editorial and media, technology, event management, and gambling.
The rise of esports has created a plethora of jobs and opportunities in esports as well as in ancillary
industries like sports betting, broadcasting, merchandising, and journalism. Goldman Sachs predicts that
by 2022, the market for esports will be $2.96 billion. 2 A Deloitte white paper predicts esports will have
600 million fans worldwide by 2020. 3 Companies like Twitch (owned by Amazon) have paid upwards of
$90 million to secure the digital broadcasting rights for the first two years of the Overwatch League
tournament. Walt Disney Company and Turner Broadcasting have also paid for esports league rights to air
on linear television. 4 Blue-chip brands like BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Jack in the Box, Intel, Snickers, and The
Coca-Cola Company have already sponsored numerous tournaments. Many experts predict that more
brands will begin to sponsor esports related entities, and this is an important driver for the industry. 5
Major investors have realized the potential of this industry. For example, Michael Jordan, Mark Cuban,
and Comcast have all invested millions of dollars in esports-related industries. This phenomenon is here
to stay.
Not only does the industry create openings for professional gamers, but it is expected to create
thousands of new jobs for prepared college graduates in supporting and ancillary occupations. For
example, many esports teams have begun to hire sports therapists to reduce burnout from gamers facing
the pressure of competing for millions of dollars. Additionally, data analysts will be in high demand to
study the data goldmine offered by a sport played on a digital playing field. 6 Some other job titles new to
the industry include game tester, booth planner, esports reporter, game designer, motion capture
cleanup artist, esports analyst, and coach. Other existing jobs needed in the esports industry include
social media associate, agent, event manager, gear and apparel market lead, and international tax
1
http://www.realclearlife.com/sports/how-video-gamers-took-over-madison-square-garden/
2
https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/pages/infographics/e-sports/report.pdf
3
https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/industry/telecommunications/capitalizing-on-growth-of-esports-industry.html
4
http://strivesponsorship.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Newzoo-Understanding-Content-Rights-in-Esports.pdf
5
https://asociacionempresarialesports.es/wp-content/uploads/newzoo_2018_global_esports_market_rep
6
https://venturebeat.com/2018/02/06/league-of-lawyers-esports-is-creating-a-new-class-of-white-collar-jobs/
Trends in Esports
Franchise Development
The creation of franchise-based leagues is perhaps one of the most crucial developments for the future of
esports. The North American League of Legends Championship and the Overwatch League are esports
leagues that operate in a similar fashion to the NBA and NFL. Teams have a permanent spot in the
leagues and often have a specific geographic location. 8 In fact, the NBA debuted an esports league in
2018 with 18 NBA teams forming esports teams to represent them. The “NBA2KL” functions in an almost
identical fashion to the NBA with playoffs, trades, and a draft each season. Many prominent figures have
purchased spots in the Overwatch league including the owner of the Golden State Warriors. 9 There are
numerous benefits of the franchise model. One of its largest advantages is it gives potential sponsors and
advertisers one specific area to invest in, instead of choosing among the hundreds of tournaments that
take place across the country. It also gives broadcasters an opportunity to bid for exclusive rights to air. 10
The success of franchise-based esports leagues is critical for the future of the sport. For universities, these
leagues will create a stable entity for graduates who would like to pursue a career in esports.
College esports programs, much like professional esports, have become increasingly popular over the last
five years. The National Association of Collegiate esports has seen a rise from 30 schools in 2017 to over
100 in 2019. 11 According to the NACE, there were 1,500 student competitors and $9 million in scholarship
funds awarded during 2018. 12 Many small private institutions view gaming as a way to differentiate
themselves from larger institutions and attract more students during enrollment struggles. 13 One notable
example is the University of Akron investing $750,000 into three esports facilities and dedicating 5,200
square feet to competitive gaming with 90 gaming PCs and 30 next generation consoles. Hundreds of
universities are investing in esports and this number will only rise as professional gaming becomes more
popular. Esports can act as a differentiating factor for potential students.
7
https://brighterbox.com/blog/article/career-opportunities-esports-industry-infographic
8
https://dotesports.com/business/news/franchising-esports-owl-lcs-2018-19805
9
http://www.espn.com/esports/story/_/id/19514784/franchising-esports-means-esports-here-stay
10
https://asociacionempresarialesports.es/wp-content/uploads/newzoo_2018_global_esports_market_report_excerpt.pdf
11
https://nacesports.org/school-directory/
12
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshmoody/2018/08/22/colleges-are-betting-big-on-the-multimillion-dollar-esports-market/#1c609cb22858
13
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/06/09/esports-quickly-expanding-colleges
14
https://www.businessinsider.com/the-rise-of-esports-betting-and-gambling-2018-1
15
https://www.statista.com/statistics/618967/espots-betting-market-wagers-worldwide/
16
http://esports-marketing-blog.com/esports-investment-mark-cuban-unikrn/
17
https://asociacionempresarialesports.es/wp-content/uploads/newzoo_2018_global_esports_market_report_excerpt.pdf
18
https://www.foxsportsasia.com/esports/839328/rise-mobile-esports-2018/
19
https://medium.com/eiplatform/the-rise-of-mobile-esports-8c9e02127f84
20
https://www.ispo.com/en/markets/esports-market-future-sports-companies
21
https://adage.com/article/news/e-sports/308447/
Occupational Analysis
Jobs are being created to support esports teams, manage events and develop software among other
activities. Colleges and universities establishing esports programs and setting up teams are experiencing
great growth. Other recent job postings also show youth programming, event management and
technology development around esports. The figure below shows a sampling of the hundreds of jobs
available in esports via the Indeed.com platform.
22
https://news.crunchbase.com/news/esports-continues-to-go-mainstream-as-funding-surges-in-2018/
23
https://www.privatebank.citibank.com/home/fresh-insight/investing-in-esports-the-future.html
Figure 1: Posting Intensity for Posts that Include the Word “Esports”
Figure 3 details the companies that are posting jobs with “esports” in the description. The Madison
Square Garden Company had the most unique job postings with 406 from January to August 2018.
However, The Walt Disney Company had the highest total number of job postings (2,039) and was tied for
the highest job posting intensity with Cybercoders, Inc. (6:1).
Figure 3: Top Companies with Posts that Include the Word “Esports”
Figure 4: Top Cities for Job Postings that Include the Word “Esports”
Figure 5 outlines the top occupations with job postings including the word “esports” in 2018. The top
occupation was marketing manager with 2,190 total job postings and 580 unique postings.
Figure 5: Top Occupations with Job Postings that Include the Word “Esports”
Universities: Over 129 universities currently have esports teams, and these colleges will need to create
various roles to support these teams. Some of the jobs created will include director, coach, trainer, and
other administrative roles. Additionally, universities will need to develop the expertise to prepare
students for a career in the growing field of esports.
Marketing: One of the largest drivers of esports growth involves securing partnership and sponsors. Savvy
marketing professionals will be needed to shape these partnerships that are so vital to esports. Social
media managers will also be needed to reach the relatively young audience that is interested in esports.
New franchise leagues will need brand marketers to help build a mystique around the company, and
ensure they become the ultimate source of competition for that video game.
Event Management: Esports tournaments are becoming large-scale events that sell out stadiums. The
League of Legends championship sold out Madison Square Garden two nights in a row in 2017. Expert
event planners will be needed to organize these events as well as ensuring the technical and logistical
setup involved in video game tournaments. 25
Editorial and Media: The online esports media landscape is already robust with millions of viewers on
streaming platforms like Twitch, and video sharing platforms like YouTube. Numerous websites are
already devoted to covering esports. As esports broadcast opportunities expand, there will be greater
demand for analysts, announcers, and other types of coverage for these competitions.
Technology: The most immediate need for technology in esports is in administration and IT support as
well as website building. One huge component of the rising sport will be data analysis. Because the games
are already played on a virtual landscape, copious amounts of data can be collected. Data analysts will be
hired to utilize this data in order to make key insights that improve the teams.
Gambling: The Supreme Court’s decision to allow states to legalize gambling will lead to a large amount of
money wagered on esports events. Odd traders, product managers, and management executives all will
be needed as well as lawyers to ensure that these gambling opportunities are legal.
This list is by no means exhaustive, and jobs in many industries will be created with the rise of esports.
24http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?ed=12%2F31%2F2014&id=pr839&sd=8%2F28%2F2014
25 https://www.pentasia.com/news/view,the-billion-dollar-esports-boom-creating-career-opportunities_9093.htm
Like the gaming/gambling field, as well as sports promotions, the field of esports has unique elements
where individuals having industry-specific knowledge should be valued and likely to have job security.
Given a number of major trends, esports is not a fad and is likely to grow in participation, employment
and revenues over the next decade.