Venturing Into eSports Journalism

Venturing Into eSports Journalism
Venturing Into eSports Journalism

The prominence of eSports and its entertainment factor in the UK has been brought to light recently with the appointment of university graduate Jack Stewart to the newly made position of an eSports journalist for The Daily Mail newspaper.

The Eastbourne graduate had completed a degree in Sports Journalism BA (Hons) at the University of Brighton. He had written about eSports during his course as a topic that he felt passionate about.

He explains that “I wrote about eSports for my dissertation” and that having the opportunity to interview figures from the eSports world “opened a lot of doors” for him.

Stewart goes on to comment on the current renown of the eSports industry, stating that “It’s a growing industry that has a huge following yet it’s mainly unheard of in the mainstream” and that even though his university lecturers were supportive of his endeavors, they had in fact never encountered the concept of eSports before.

What this conveys regarding the eSports industry at the moment is that even though it is not commonly recognised as a core topic, many people are open to the idea of learning more about it; subsequently, it appears that the growth of the eSports phenomenon and community will continue to grow exponentially for the foreseeable future, leaving many opportunities for more people to get involved – particularly in the UK, where eSports are only beginning to be broken into on a large scale.

How has eSports Grown Since its Initiation?

The origin of eSports can be traced all the way back to 1972, when the “Intergalactic Spacewar Olympics” that took place at the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory became the first eSports tournament. Since then – and increasingly so in the 21st century – eSports has steadily grown and blossomed, with large competitions held annually: spectated by millions of fans, the best of the best eSports teams compete for crowning titles.

Along with the number of people involved in eSports tournaments, the prize pool totals have increased correspondingly. The largest prize pool in eSports history was awarded earlier this year at Valve’s “The International” (this year marked the seventh anniversary of the event) for MODA game Dota 2, amounting to over $23 million.

Furthermore, the revenue from eSports has increased from $325 million in 2015 to $696 million in 2017 according to Statista, and is predicted to rise considerably to $1,488 million by 2020. Meanwhile, the global audience statistics for the number of people watching eSports has grown from 235 million in 2015 to 385 million in 2017. 2020 is expected to see a total number of 589 million people viewing eSports around the world.

UK eSports Determination

Although the UK is somewhat behind other countries in terms of eSports funding, awareness and excitement, there are movements to change this. BBC Three began broadcasting eSports in summer 2017, while efforts are being made by UKIE (the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment) for the national recognition of eSports.

It is also true that the UK boasts a handful of highly accomplished eSports teams which are recognised worldwide, including Fnatic and Team Dignitas. There have, however, been moves in the US to incorporate eSports at a local level, through introducing university eSports teams. As of yet, fifty colleges, including Georgia State University and the University of Utah, have organised teams, with partial scholarships sometimes offered alongside.

The fact that many colleges are adopting this idea in order to boost student numbers indicates the popularity that eSports have among the younger generation. Jeff Brown, the vice president and athletic director at the College of St Joseph, has admitted that “Strategically, we knew that it would give us more cache with students”.

One of the biggest successes of this system has been at Robert Morris University in Illinois, the eSports team of which has become prolific since their creation in 2014. Meanwhile, $250,000 was invested in 2016 into the University of California in order to build an eSports arena, partly sponsored by Riot Games and computer companies.

eSports at a Local Level?

Venturing Into eSports Journalism

Similarly to Olympic athletes, eSports competitors – whether they are working in teams or solo – are a source of inspiration to many. Aside from the positive emotional impact of eSports, though, there are also the business opportunities available, whether it be setting up your own website to review or advertise eSports matches, or bet upon the outcome of them.

The fact that mainstream online bookies such as Betway have incorporated eSports betting markets shows that the eSports industry is becoming more widely recognised for the popular entertainment that it is, with mainstream sports teams and organisations such as the NBA and Paris Saint-Germain also getting involved through sponsorships and the creation of their own eSports teams.

There is even a demand for greater eSports immersion on a more personal level, as demonstrated by the popularity of Twitch and YouTube video game streaming. Fortunately, eSports are accessible for viewing to anyone who has internet access, allowing for eSports content of all forms to reach large audiences.

The Future

By 2020, the eSports industry is expected to be worth a total of $1.5 billion in revenue according to Newzoo, as well as possess a world-wide audience of approximately 589 million people.

Awareness of eSports is also expected to rise, with Statista anticipating the number of people who are aware of the existence of eSports to rise from 809 million in 2015 to an astonishing 1.57 billion in 2019. Therefore, with the popularity of eSports on the rise, it is likely that its influence will be felt at a local level instead of only a global one, meaning that we can expect more local eSports talk and teams to appear over the next few years.



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