With ESL One Manila 2016 done and the Manila Majors already getting a lot of attention before its June schedule, its certainly obvious that a lot of eyes are on these events including that of companies that want a piece of the gigantic global audience that these events capture. ESL One was broadcast on free TV along with online streams offered for free via Twitch.TV giving it a presence similar to that of South Korean gaming events. That being said, South Korea has one of the largest gaming industry in the world and the Philippines having arguably the most vocal community, its certainly is nice to see the influence that gaming has created for these markets. The Philippines is set to take on a larger role in the future as it holds the 2nd largest streaming audience in SEA and a betting community that’s undoubtedly just as sizable, and with a decent tech community, bitcoin betting is a growing sector as well even moreso on a global scale.
As mentioned, the eSports community is one of the largest spectator crowd in current times and this is a prime advertising space for potential brands. To give you an idea when gaming becomes so big, take South Korea’s gigantic professional gaming industry where players are considered equally, if not more, popular to traditional sports professionals. This extremely large audience is a gold mine for advertisers and other potential avenues of exposure which is a big help to the gaming industry as it continues to cement itself as a modern attraction compared to other event spectacles.
Given the younger demographics that these kinds of events draw, its easy to assume that most of the investors in the gaming market are electronics and technology brands but that’s not the case with brands like Coca Cola, Red Bull and other food products are taking interest in this industry not to mention the betting community for DOTA2 and CSGO already taking a major portion of event activities online. In this respect, its only time that more and more potential investors take notice of the current gaming landscape and what it offers, particularly the spectator events that draw in thousands of people to watch them live and with events lasting over 12 hours a day, its certainly a major exposure channel. With this, whatever industry a brand may be a part off can easily create the new landscape of the gaming world.