eSports UK national survey Research report May 2018 We are a consultative custom market research agency, responsive, contact us agile and committed to our clients’ success above all. sector We have a long history of helping brands succeed and we continually Technology, Media Steve Evans [email protected] innovate new means for obtaining insight. We set ourselves apart as & Entertainment Denholm Scotford [email protected] we fuse sector expertise and award winning research designs with innovative tools and technology to deliver impactful, actionable Marketing & PR Ian Smith [email protected] insights that keep our clients ahead of what’s next. Expert in all areas of research design, implementation, analysis, and reporting, we have particular strengths in customer experience, brand and new product development. Working internationally from our offices, our activities span both business-to-business and consumer markets. Our legacy, expertise and relationships made us who we are but technology drives our future and speed of delivery allows us to anticipate challenges. www.harris-interactive.co.uk 2 About this report eSports are a form of competition using video games, commonly organised as multiplayer video game competitions between players or teams of players. The top echelon of players are typically professional gamers competing for high value prize money pots. Competitors in the 2017 International Dota 2 Championship battled for a total prize pool in excess of $20m, with the winning team taking home $10.9m. The largest competitions are held live in some of the world’s largest indoor arenas and streamed online to even bigger audiences. Streaming services like Twitch, YouTube and Mixer are a key driver in growing the audience. The audience for eSports is growing. Some of the biggest YouTube channels are dedicated to video gaming. It is already a core element for many video games. Game publishers and developers increasingly need to consider its incorporation into new releases for both mass participation and to make it viable as an audience viewing experience. The IOC has considered introducing eSports into the Olympic Games. The Tokyo Olympic Committee has planned a number of eSports events to lead up to the 2020 games and Paris are in discussion with the IOC to consider eSports as a demonstration sport for 2024. The IOC recognises eSports can help keep its games relevant to younger audiences. While its inclusion remains controversial, it is more likely than not that they will be incorporated as a fully recognised and medalled sport at some point in the future, perhaps as soon as Paris 2024. This report is based on a robust nationally representative UK survey conducted in May 2018 conducted by Harris Interactive. It focuses on some of the basics, such as awareness, familiarity and interest in eSports. The rise of eSports provides a rich opportunity for brand sponsorship. As eSports reaches a broader audience, potentially even a mass audience, the opportunity will become all the more compelling. Such opportunities for brands are also explored in this report. Method and sample About Harris 24 Online panel survey using the Harris 24 poll service Harris 24 is an ultrafast polling service from Harris Interactive, delivering up 2,030 interviews to 5,000 respondents for national polls 8-minute survey, fieldwork in May 2018 or targeted audiences Sample is weighted to national demographics by Clients have real-time data access via gender, age and region an analytics platform with exportable results 16-54s interviewed with quotas set by gender/age see table below We can reach 21+ million global consumers across 50+ markets unweighted bases unweighted males 958 Results disclosed in this report may not be used for advertising, Click here for more information females 1,072 marketing, or promotional purposes 16-24 369 without the prior written consent of 25-34 529 Harris Interactive. 35-44 524 Products and brand names are 45-54 608 trademarks or registered trademarks 2,030 of their respective owners. Executive summary – top 5 conclusions Fuelled by substantial investment from some of the biggest names in entertainment and tech, there is no doubt that eSports will grow in popularity. As of now, this study finds it to be a sizeable niche (18% watching), but at the same time there is broad 1 recognition that it has the potential to reach a mass audience in the future. Fortnite, a relatively new game, leads with long-standing franchises FIFA and Call of Duty as the most compelling eSports titles. This game has taken the battle royale 2 multiplayer genre by storm in recent months. YouTube Gaming and Twitch are the leading services for both awareness and usage to 3 deliver eSports experiences to consumers. While many are sceptical of its inclusion in the Olympics, there is much broader 4 recognition that eSports can help broaden its appeal. Brands should certainly consider sponsoring eSports leagues, events and tournaments. Doing so is viewed positively by the public and eSports’ core audience alike. The brand associations for eSports are overwhelmingly positive. While some have genuine 5 concerns about violence in games, and for kids watching, the positives certainly outweigh the negatives. There are also opportunities for bookmakers. 3 in 4 of us have heard of “eSports” – higher still among males, the under 45s and regular gamers heard of eSports in UK base 2,030 Awareness% heard breakdown of it Total UK 76% 76% Males 85% heard of it Females 66% 16-24 78% 24% 25-34 80% unaware 35-44 79% 45-54 68% ABC1 79% C2DE 73% Non-gamers 48% Monthly+ gamers 87% Weekly+ gamers 88% Own current gen console 89% 6 While most have heard of eSports, levels of strong familiarity are weaker, with more pronounced biases eSports familiarity Never heard of it % at least base all UK, 2,030 Know name only very familiar Somewhat familiar 4% Very familiar Total UK 20% Know great deal 16% 24% Males 30% Females 10% 16-24 28% 25-34 30% 35-44 17% 27% 45-54 8% 29% ABC1 25% C2DE 14% Non-gamers 2% Monthly+ gamers 29% Weekly+ gamers 32% Own current gen console 38% 7 Strong interest in eSports remains a niche, but there is a sizeable minority with some degree of interest Interest in eSports Not at all interested % interested base all UK, 2,030 Barely interested interested very extremely Interested 24% 10% 5% Very interested Total UK 5% 39% Extremely interested 10% Males 27% 15% 7% 49% Females 20% 5% 38% 27% 16-24 31% 14% 5% 49% 24% 25-34 26% 14% 10% 50% 35-44 25% 9% 3% 37% 45-54 15% 5% 21% ABC1 24% 12% 7% 43% 24% C2DE 23% 8% 34% In order to gauge interest across all survey participants (including those unfamiliar), we showed this text before Non-gamers 5% 5% asking about interest: Monthly+ gamers 31% 15% 7% “eSports” is a competition using video games, where people 53% compete against each other in first-person shooters, real- 29% 17% 8% time strategy and fighting games. Some eSports gamers are Weekly+ gamers 54% professionals and there are leagues where people compete 35% 20% 10% for money. Like many sports, people can play themselves, Own current gen console 65% or they can watch others play in tournaments, which are streamed online to a public audience. 8 Watching eSports is currently a sizeable niche, peaking among males and 25-34s watching eSports No, never watched base all UK 2,030 Used to watch Yes, I watch eSports % watch eSports Total UK 18% 18% Males 26% Females 10% 12% 16-24 23% 25-34 28% 35-44 16% 69% 45-54 7% ABC1 22% C2DE 14% Hours watched per week Non-gamers 1% among viewers Monthly+ gamers 26% Less than 5 56% Weekly+ gamers 27% 5 to 9 hours 18% Own current gen console 36% 10+ hours 26% 9 Newcomer Fortnite stands out as the compelling eSports title, as well as the enduring titans of FIFA and Call of Duty 60% Fortnite FIFA * Call of Duty 50% PUBG Rocket League Super Smash Bros. Tekken Battlefield 40% CS:GO Overwatch Rainbow 6 Siege Destiny 2 Halo unaware Unreal NBA 2K Street Tournament Hearthstone League of Fighter Guild StarCraft Legends World of Wars Warcraft 30% TF2 Injustice Doom Dota 2 World of Total Tanks War Dawn of Quake War 20% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% % % interested in game for eSports % familiar with game among UK total *among those interested in eSports who are familiar with the game 10 YouTube Gaming and Twitch are the two clear leaders for eSports-related brand awareness Total UK Weekly+ gamers Awareness of eSports-related companies 33% YouTube Gaming 46% a specific YouTube channel 29% Twitch 41% 17% Electronic Sports League (ESL) 25% 17% NBA 2K League 23% 16% Major League Gaming (MLG) 25% 16% World e-Sports Games (WESG) 22% 14% Major League Soccer (eMLS) 19% 14% Overwatch League 22% 12% Machinima 18% 10% Electronic Sports World Convention 14% 8% Gfinity 13% 8% Turtle Entertainment 11% 6% Mixer 10% 5% Dingit.tv 7% 11 FIFA, Call of Duty, League of Legends and Overwatch are the top 4 most watched tournaments eSports tournaments watched among eSports viewers, base 596 FIFA Interactive World Cup 38% Call of Duty World League 35% League of Legends World Championship 22% Overwatch League/Overwatch World Cup 20% Halo Championship Series 19% Electronic Sports League (ESL) 18% GameBattles UK 18% Major League Soccer (eMLS) 16% World of Warcraft Arena World Championship 15% Major League Gaming (MLG): Pro Circuit/Pro League 14% Starcraft 2 World Championship series 14% Capcom Cup 13% Dreamhack 13% Electronic Sports World Convention (ESWC) 13% Evolution Championship Series 12% Apex 12% The International (Dota 2) 12%