The second edition of Esports Bar, held from September 18 to 20 in Miami, began with an unmissable session in which media executives, brands and industry leaders talked about trends, the present and the future of the world of ESports.
Jurre Pannekeet, director of Esports of Newzoo, was in charge to moderate the panel, which began with the most relevant aspects of the last report of the company on the ecosystem of ESports.
"According to recent growth, it is estimated that by 2024 ESports will outperform traditional sports as a global business," said Pannekeet. "When we determine that electronic games dominate 85% of direct mobile purchases, excluding advertising, we can say that we have entered a new phase that will determine the pace of growth."
Alban Dechelotte, Coca-Cola senior marketing manager; Ralf Reichert, CEO of ESL and Todd Sitrin, SVP & GM of Electronic Arts, complemented the panel with their visions from different perspectives.
According to Newzoo, the world sports economy, which includes media rights, advertising, sponsorships, merchandising and ticket sales, will grow 41% in 2017 to 696 million dollars and reach 1.49 billion dollars in 2020. Esports' global audience is also estimated to be 385 million, including 191 million fans and 194 million occasional viewers.
"The growth of ESports and its leadership in the entertainment industry is imminent and is going to be growing. ESports tells stories; I would love to see professional story creators who are not present in this industry today, join us and together push this higher and higher, "said Sitrin.
For his part, Dechelotte as a representative of Coca-Cola ensures that the brand is pleased to have been one of the first leading brands to bet on Esports. "We treat everyone as fans, both those who follow traditional sports and those who follow ESports, and that will always be our goal."
Regarding the role and participation of the media in the electronic sports industry, Reichert believes that it is necessary to continue to attract both traditional and digital. "Content is king. Everyone wants content that attracts audiences. We see more and more traditional media to turn towards Esports; each media involved adds more credibility to this industry" he concluded.
By: María Carolina Alonso
