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Welcome to the second episode of Full-Court Finance, a new podcast from Zacks Investment Research focused on the intersection of sports, business, and the stock market. This week, we explore the rapid rise of esports.
Esports is essentially professional video gaming. The all-encompassing term covers different video games, leagues, tournaments, companies, countries, and much more. Industry revenues are projected to skyrocket 41% this year to hit $696 million while reaching 385.5 million fans,according to a report by gaming-focused market research firm Newzoo.
By 2020, advertising, sponsorship, media rights, consumer spending, and video game maker investment will help make esports a $1.5 billion industry.
The U.S. government has granted work visas for professional video gamers, the Olympic Council of Asia recently voted to include esports in the 2018 Asian Games after a push from Alibaba (BABA - Free Report) subsidiary Alisports, and the Paris Olympic committee has even considered testing video game competitions at the summer games in 2024.
Television and news giants including ESPN, NBC, and TBS have already committed to broadcasting and covering esports, which includes a focus on multiplayer online battle arena games Defense of the Ancients and League of Legends, as well as the first person shooter games Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Overwatch.
Esports are a massive draw for marketers and advertisers because their average audience is made up of mostly employed men between 18 to 35 years old—a demographic that has become harder to reach than ever.
On top of this, gaming giants—Electronic Arts (EA - Free Report) , Tencent Holdings (TCEHY - Free Report) , Activision Blizzard , and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO - Free Report) —are all invested in esports’ long-term viability and success.
And major sponsors of more traditional sports are already trying to cash in on professional video gaming. Coca-Cola (KO - Free Report) sponsored last year's League of Legends World Finals. American Express (AXP - Free Report) , Geico, Bud Light, Audi, Buffalo Wild Wings , and others are all esports sponsors.
Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) got ahead of the esports curve when it purchased esports streaming giant Twitch for about $1billion dollars in 2014. Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL - Free Report) YouTube has its own “gaming” section that streams esports. And esports events have sold out the Staples Center in Los Angeles and Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Activision Blizzard’s new Overwatch league, which will kick off its inaugural season in January, is set up much like many more common sports with city-based teams, regularly scheduled games, playoffs, and minimum salaries for team members. Investors, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke, and others paid $20 million to purchase one of 12 teams in the league’s first season.
Other major players in the sports world, such as Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and the Golden State Warriors ownership group are all also heavily invested in esports. And the NBA is set to launch its first ever video game league where NBA team-associated clubs will do battle on virtual NBA 2K courts starting in 2018.
But you will have to listen to the whole episode to find out more about this sport of the future!
If you have any questions about this episode of Full-Court Finance please feel free to shoot us an email over at podcast@zacks.com. Please also make sure to check out all of our other podcasts at zacks.com/podcast and remember to subscribe and leave a rating in iTunes.
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What Investors Need to Know About Esports
Welcome to the second episode of Full-Court Finance, a new podcast from Zacks Investment Research focused on the intersection of sports, business, and the stock market. This week, we explore the rapid rise of esports.
Esports is essentially professional video gaming. The all-encompassing term covers different video games, leagues, tournaments, companies, countries, and much more. Industry revenues are projected to skyrocket 41% this year to hit $696 million while reaching 385.5 million fans,according to a report by gaming-focused market research firm Newzoo.
By 2020, advertising, sponsorship, media rights, consumer spending, and video game maker investment will help make esports a $1.5 billion industry.
The U.S. government has granted work visas for professional video gamers, the Olympic Council of Asia recently voted to include esports in the 2018 Asian Games after a push from Alibaba (BABA - Free Report) subsidiary Alisports, and the Paris Olympic committee has even considered testing video game competitions at the summer games in 2024.
Television and news giants including ESPN, NBC, and TBS have already committed to broadcasting and covering esports, which includes a focus on multiplayer online battle arena games Defense of the Ancients and League of Legends, as well as the first person shooter games Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Overwatch.
Esports are a massive draw for marketers and advertisers because their average audience is made up of mostly employed men between 18 to 35 years old—a demographic that has become harder to reach than ever.
On top of this, gaming giants—Electronic Arts (EA - Free Report) , Tencent Holdings (TCEHY - Free Report) , Activision Blizzard , and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO - Free Report) —are all invested in esports’ long-term viability and success.
And major sponsors of more traditional sports are already trying to cash in on professional video gaming. Coca-Cola (KO - Free Report) sponsored last year's League of Legends World Finals. American Express (AXP - Free Report) , Geico, Bud Light, Audi, Buffalo Wild Wings , and others are all esports sponsors.
Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) got ahead of the esports curve when it purchased esports streaming giant Twitch for about $1billion dollars in 2014. Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL - Free Report) YouTube has its own “gaming” section that streams esports. And esports events have sold out the Staples Center in Los Angeles and Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Activision Blizzard’s new Overwatch league, which will kick off its inaugural season in January, is set up much like many more common sports with city-based teams, regularly scheduled games, playoffs, and minimum salaries for team members. Investors, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke, and others paid $20 million to purchase one of 12 teams in the league’s first season.
Other major players in the sports world, such as Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, and the Golden State Warriors ownership group are all also heavily invested in esports. And the NBA is set to launch its first ever video game league where NBA team-associated clubs will do battle on virtual NBA 2K courts starting in 2018.
But you will have to listen to the whole episode to find out more about this sport of the future!
If you have any questions about this episode of Full-Court Finance please feel free to shoot us an email over at podcast@zacks.com. Please also make sure to check out all of our other podcasts at zacks.com/podcast and remember to subscribe and leave a rating in iTunes.
5 Trades Could Profit "Big-League" from Trump Policies
If the stocks above spark your interest, wait until you look into companies primed to make substantial gains from Washington's changing course.
Today Zacks reveals 5 tickers that could benefit from new trends like streamlined drug approvals, tariffs, lower taxes, higher interest rates, and spending surges in defense and infrastructure. See these buy recommendations now >>