Mediavision have released their “esports and gaming 2016/17” report suggesting almost 400,000 Swedes consume esports and/or gaming content daily.
The analysis comments that the aforementioned figures make esports and gaming considerably more popular than any traditional sports online. In early Autumn 2016, Mediavision initially reported that viewership had surpassed that of traditional sports and it now states that it has “not only continued, but accelerated”.
The figures mention an average of 370,000 viewers in the fourth quarter or 2016 which is up 35% more than the same period in 2015. It also reveals that traditional sports reached on average 280,000 viewers.
When breaking down the figures by demographic, Mediavision suggest that 15% of the 15-24 age bracket consume esports and gaming content each day but also hints at a “clear increase amongst older viewers”.
As shown by the above graph, it breaks down the consumption by company and suggests that YouTube is the clear leader in the consumption of gaming and esports content. It attributes the launch of YouTube Gaming in August 2015 as a likely cause.
Torbjorn Axelsson, Analyst at Mediavision stated “The extremely rapid consumer growth has also led to an interesting development among market actors. Both Twitter and Facebook have invested in this segment, a clear statement that esports is a future market for them. Major Nordic actors like MTG and Egmont are also increasing their activities in this market. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out”.
The Mediavision report is the latest to draw comparison between booming esports and gaming content consumption and traditional sports content. It’s important to remember that consumption is often very different and it’s often difficult to measure and draw comparisons between it.
Esports Insider says: Hopefully we move away from the tenuous “traditional sports” versus esports viewership argument in the future. Regardless, it’s unsurprising to see great numbers out of Sweden as they’re a seriously impressive nation when it comes to breeding esports stars.