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Trends: eSports
DANIEL WOOD IS CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF THE ASSOCIATION OF UK INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT. HE PROVIDES HIS VIEW ON THE RAPIDLY EXPANDING FIELD OF PROFESSIONAL COMPUTER GAMES PLAYERS, OR ‘ESPORTS’.
What is eSports?
Competitive video games played by professional players.
“It’s grown up with the games industry, alongside the popularity of games themselves. The expansion of broadband in the 2000s and then the arrival of streaming platforms like twitch and youtube that let people share the games have been crucial in the development of the sector.”
Which are the biggest eSports games?
“In one sense, there’s no such thing as ‘eSports’. Players prefer their own game and there’s not often a lot of cross over between someone who plays and watches, say, FIFA and players of League of Legends. So, when you ask about which games are most important, audiences will tend to name their own game.”
New Olympians?
- Intel World Open eSport championships will be held in Tokyo in partnership with International Olympics Committee ahead of the Olympic Games (the event has been postponed until 2021, alongside the main games)
- In the Paris 2024 Olympics, eSports will be included as demonstration events
“You’re increasingly seeing games designed with eSports in mind. Obviously, they’re great games but publishers are thinking about the eSports sector and how new games might fit in.”
Who watches esports?
“It’s vital to make sure that commercial partners see the importance of the number of eyeballs you can reach through eSports. As an alternative to digital marketing this is a high-quality spend compared to a banner on a website.”
eSports audience growth
Use two fingers to zoom in
“There are live events – like the ESL One in Birmingham – but the big audience is online. There’s a new generation who see it as the norm, and for the next generation digitally native viewers it just fits in to the way they consume media.”
“Lockdown has helped eSports achieve a wider cultural platform and cultural acceptance. The BBC streaming the League of Legends final this year, for example, really helped to promote eSports as a legitimate pastime rather than just a niche.”
What are the commercial
AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES?
“eSports exist at the cutting edge of digitally delivered entertainment and the landscape is made up of lots of component parts. You have game designers and publishers, players, tournaments hosts, streaming platforms and tech providers all contributing. So, for investors there are many ways to get involved.”
Advertisers include companies like Intel – which has made a big investment in eSports – to more surprising brands like Mercedes or DHL.
Revenue has grown quickly
20.1% - projected annual revenue growth between 2018 and 2023
Source: PWC Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019-2023
“I think broadcast rights will be something to keep an eye on. They’re going to increase in value as the sector grows.”
income sources
Sectors: Travel
WE THINK PREDICTIONS OF DOOM FOR THE TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY SECTORS ARE PREMATURE.
Travel restrictions have seen the usual tourist destinations abandoned this summer. Meanwhile the cramped conditions of an aeroplane and enclosed environment of a cruise ship present logistical challenges for industries where margins can be tight.
But the urge to see the world and seek new experiences is deeply ingrained. We think that in the longer term people will get back on the road and the travel and hospitality sector is likely to recover.
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THE ASCENT OF AIR TRAVEL HAS NOT BEEN STOPPED BY PREVIOUS CRISES
The difference in travel between 2019 to 2020. Predictions of the end of the travel sector have come after every global crisis, but the long-term trend shows no sign of slowing.
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Cruise liners - 'All aboard'
Cruises were a prime example of a sector hit hard by coronavirus, with high rates of on-board infections and cruises caught in quarantine. And yet:
+40 Percent
2021 bookings were 40% higher in April 2020 than in April 2019, even as cruise ships were stranded by coronavirus lockdowns
Source: cruisecompete.com
May 2020
75 Percent
Percentage of respondents in a poll by cruisecritic.com who said they would be taking either the same amount of cruises or more once the coronavirus crisis subsides
Source: cruisecritic.com
April 2020
LONG DISTANCE RAIL - THE SLEEPER WAKES
After a decade of closures thanks to competition from short-haul flights, long-distance rail routes are reopening.
PARIS TO NICE
French President Emmanuel Macrons promised to redevelop night trains in his Bastille Day speech this year, starting with a revival of the overnight service between Paris and Nice.
MUNICH TO BUDAPEST, ZAGREB, BERLIN TO MOSCOW
Austrian state rail operator OBB has bought the night train operations of German railway company Deutche Bahn and is planning to buy 20 trains to service the routes.
PRAGUE TO RIJEKA, VIENNA, WARSAW
A new summer service launched by Czech operator RegioJet between the Czech Republic and Croatia has proved so popular it has been upgraded to a daily service. RegioJet now has plans to launch a service travelling through the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland.
STOCKHOLM TO BERLIN
Swedish operator Snalltaget is quadrupling the number of night trains on its Stockholm-Malmo-Copenhagen-Hamburg-Berlin route.
Long distance rail - the sleeper wakes
After a decade of closures thanks to competition from short-haul flights, long-distance rail routes are reopening.
paris to nice
French President Emmanuel Macron promised to redevelop night trains in his Bastille Day speech this year, starting with a revival of the overnight service between Paris and Nice.
munich to budapest, zagreb, berlin to moscow
Austrian state rail operator OBB has bought the night train operations of German railway company Deutsche Bahn and is planning to buy 20 trains to service the routes.
prague to rijeka, vienna, warsaw
A new summer service launched by Czech operator RegioJet between the Czech Republic and Croatia has proved so popular it has been upgraded to a daily service. RegioJet now has plans to launch a service travelling through the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland.
stockholm to berlin
Swedish operator Snälltåget is quadrupling the number of night trains on its Stockholm-Malmö-Copenhagen-Hamburg-Berlin route.
MACRO: POLITICS
GET READY FOR MORE GOVERNMENT
Over the decade since the global financial crisis, the ‘old ways’ of monetary policy have been increasingly perceived as ineffective.
This could lay the ground for a shift in popular mood, and policy makers could decide that the time is right for a new economic policy.
MEASURES INTRODUCED TO FIGHT THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAVE ACCELERATED THE TREND TOWARDS ‘MORE GOVERNMENT’
FURLOUGH
PROGRAMMES
FISCAL STIMULUS
PACKAGES
REGULATION OF
DIVIDENDS AND
SHARE BUY-BACKS FOR
COMPANIES GETTING GOVERNMENT
ASSISTANCE
CHANGES TO THE TAX
SYSTEM (LIKELY TO SEE
TAXES RISE)
MAY BE AROUND THE
CORNER
FURLOUGH
PROGRAMMES
FISCAL STIMULUS
PACKAGES
REGULATION OF
DIVIDENDS AND
SHARE BUY-BACKS FOR
COMPANIES GETTING GOVERNMENT
ASSISTANCE
CHANGES TO THE TAX
SYSTEM (LIKELY TO SEE
TAXES RISE)
MAY BE AROUND THE
CORNER
THE POLICY SCALE SEEMS TO BE TIPPING TOWARDS MORE GOVERNMENT
GLOBALISATION
Rising global trade, lower trade barriers and regulation, established trading blocks, eg European Union, North American Free Trade Agreement, inclusion of China in the World Trade Organisation
CENTRAL BANK DOMINANCE
Falling interest rates, stimulus measures (qualitative easing), budget and fiscal austerity
FINANCIALISATION
Markets and financial institutions key influencers on policy and economy, financial markets becoming increasingly significant chunk of GDP
OUTCOME
Deflation, falling interest rates, higher asset prices, lower GDP growth
LOCALISATION
Supply chain shifts, Trump’s stance against North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), protectionist trade policies, more regulation or companies and people, redistribution a key political motivator.
FISCAL STIMULUS PROMOTE GROWTH
Rising budget deficits, higher public spending and rising public sector weight, radical new ideas eg Modern Monetary Policy, Universal Basic Income
LOCAL INDUSTRY
Governments may require that products or services considered to be of national importance are locally produced
OUTCOME
Potentially higher inflation in the long run, growth in local industry, reduced international co-operation and increasing multi-polarity, higher taxes and regulatory burden
THE POLICY SCALE SEEMS TO BE TIPPING TOWARDS MORE GOVERNMENT
LESS GOVERNMENT
GLOBALISATION
Rising global trade, lower trade barriers and regulation, established trading blocks, eg European Union, North American Free Trade Agreement, inclusion of China in the World Trade Organisation
CENTRAL BANK DOMINANCE
Falling interest rates, stimulus measures (qualitative easing), budget and fiscal austerity
FINANCIALISATION
Markets and financial institutions key influencers on policy and economy, financial markets becoming increasingly significant chunk of GDP
OUTCOME
Deflation, falling interest rates, higher asset prices, lower GDP growth
MORE GOVERNMENT
LOCALISATION
Supply chain shifts, Trump’s stance against North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), protectionist trade policies, more regulation
or companies and people, redistribution a key political motivator.
FISCAL STIMULUS TO PROMOTE GROWTH
Rising budget deficits, higher public spending and rising public sector weight,
radical new ideas eg Modern Monetary Policy, Universal Basic Income
LOCAL INDUSTRY
Governments may require that products
or services considered to be of national importance
are locally produced
OUTCOME
Potentially higher inflation in the long run, growth in local industry, reduced
international co-operation and increasing multi-polarity, higher taxes and
regulatory burden.
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