Part One: Introduction

By Nick Vener and Andrew Jaffee

Our mission at the SportsTV Guide is to help you stay in front of trends in our industry and facilitate you leveraging those trends for your business. That is why we are embarking on a comprehensive review of where the future of sports is heading with a series focused on eSports.

This series is focused on the why, how, what and when of eSports for restaurants and bars. This post will focus specifically on why you need to take eSports seriously and the implications for your operation, especially for sports-themed operators.

Why are eSports Essential to Have in Your Restaurant?

Great question! Let’s start with who makes up the eSports gaming community (i.e., players and fans) who you want to attract by embracing eSports in your sports marketing efforts.

The bulk of gaming enthusiasts are Millennials, but research shows that Gen Zers (the generation after Millennials) are playing eSports even more competitively. Additionally, Millennials and Gen Zers are far less committed to traditional sports fandom than their Generation X predecessors (38% are committed sports fans vs. 45% of Gen X’ers).

According to research data, however, younger generations are more receptive to non-traditional sports like eSports. 56% of US Gen Z men (aged 13-21) said nontraditional sports are “relevant to my generation,” while just 44% said the same for traditional sports. Millennials and Gen Z also spend more time playing video games than watching traditional, linear TV by an almost 2:1 margin.

That is why eSports is perfect solution for their interest. Most of the content available is easily consumed in a mobile format and can be enjoyed when and where the individual desires. Since they are playing the same games run at eSports tournaments, they also feel more connected to eSports in general. Sure most of us can play basketball, but few of us carve out the time to do so or can do so with the skill of LeBron. Meanwhile gaming is so ingrained in the lifestyle of most Millennials and Gen Z’ers that the affinity is quite obvious.

Given that the dominant consumer generation is aged from 21-39 and their interest in gaming, it’s high time you provided them with the content they want to view. There is good news on this front as well. To start the overall global eSports economy is now over a $1 billion market. Additionally, global eSports viewers will top 450 million people in 2019. You can imagine that a significant portion of those folks are right here in North America. In fact, eSport cafes and bars have exploded in popularity and truly substantiate why sports bars and restaurants need to leverage this market. Brands like Meltdown as well as a handful of Asian brands such as Waynoo (which is now expanding to London) have capitalized on this expanding eSports audience.

Connecting to a New Market

why sports bars should target eSports fans, gamersThese eSports bars & cafes are serving as a location for the gaming community to come together to play, compete, and drink in one spot. They are not only delivering a great place to view matches between pro-level gamers, but also provide an environment for guests to be players themselves. If you decide to follow suit, you’ll need to start by planning how you will both show eSports events and facilitate game play by guests while visiting your establishment.

The notion is much like the effort to build a Mixed Martial Arts fan base. You start by showing the free content that will prove you are committed to the content. After you establish your place as an eSports friendly venue, then you can invest in the infrastructure necessary to attract local folks to play at your venue. Ultimately, eSports cafés cater to the more hardcore eSports community, as well as casual gamers; both of which are looking for a place to eat, drink and play video games. And there is no reason your venue can’t accommodate them.

As it turns out, eSports has already positioned itself to more closely resemble a traditional sports model, recruiting high-profile investments from personalities in traditional sports as well as professional gamers. Just look at the NBA’s investment in eSports for your proof that gaming has gone mainstream. It is evident that the gaming industry’s future viability and revenue stature have an overwhelmingly positive outlook for growth in the future.

eSports is the Modern APA

Are eSports the new APA?

People love opportunities for friendly competition. eSports players are as dedicated as their traditional sports counterparts and happen to be a somewhat misunderstood community. You could argue that gamers are the modern-day APA (American Poolplayers Association), which experienced similar growth during the 1990s and early-2000s polska-ed.com. If you don’t know the APA, they facilitate 250,000 people playing in 8-ball pool leagues across North America. That’s a pretty amazing statistic when you consider that pool is hardly a mainstream sports, where eSports is far more popular and boasts infinitely more player potential. One potent benefit of the APA program is how it fills bars on slow nights with folks who want to compete in their favorite sport.

One great lesson from the massive growth of the APA is the restaurant industry can and should capitalize on these potential opportunities for profit while they remain in their emerging stages. Although eSports is past emerging, it serves as one of your best opportunities to attract a younger (and sustainable) following. It’s safe to say that your restaurant could depend on these gamers to expand past your existing sports bar guests.

Even traditional cable networks are beginning to air eSport competitions more often. However, the lion share of gaming-driven content is broadcast via streaming platforms such as Twitch, MLG.com, and YouTube. Restaurants can easily make use of Smart TV technology or streaming devices like Apple TV, Roku, or Amazon Fire Sticks to display trending competitions, tournaments, or events. And major eSports events are listed on the SportsTV Guide for easy schedule planning.

Leveraging this opportunity will require planning and a clearly defined strategy to ensure you are successful. This is primary motivation behind this series as we attempt to provide you with a road map to making the gaming market your own. Because, we recognize the potential opportunity for capitalizing on eSports in your restaurant, we’ve done the research and contacted professionals in the gaming and eSport community to help you host, run, and properly display eSport tournaments in your restaurant.

In a series of five in-depth sections, we will explain:

  • How to show eSports effectively at your location
  • Marketing Tactics. What’s the right message to send and on which channels.
  • Rules, Regulations, and Background. Everything you need to know for hosting your own eSports tourney.
  • Planning & Goals. Designing an in-depth event plan and setting detailed goals.
  • Execution for eSports ROI. How to make sure you get a healthy return on investment.

From there you should feel confident you can execute your own eSports strategy. No doubt interest is exploding for this content, the only question is when you are going to get motivated to take advantage of that interest. We believe that time is now!