Report: eSports will pull in 400-plus million viewers by 2019

A growing interest in eSports is going to bloom in the coming years, according to newzoo.com, which estimates more than 400 million people will be tuning in by the year 2019.

Already, newzoo.com, which has been tracking eSports and the digital gaming industry, says awareness in eSports will exceed one billion — with a B — people this year.

This growing awareness should ultimately lead to more viewership, as the following chart shows.

Tracking this pattern, and considering the worldwide population right now is estimated to be 7.4 billion people, this means that approximately one in seven people on planet Earth will be aware of eSports. It also shows that approximately one in 18 people globally will be tuning in to watch eSports.

This is an industry that is going to slingshot from the obscure to the wildly popular, very soon.

Here’s a quick glimpse into how this is happening:

“The explosive growth of eSports awareness is not coincidental. It can mainly be attributed to three things: increased involvement of mainstream media and broadcasters, a huge effort by publishers to build their eSports business and explosive growth in leagues and events organized on a global, regional, and particularly local scale,” per newzoo.com.

Some of the places in which eSports has become increasingly popular might surprise you, too.

This past year alone, awareness rose 36 percent. The industry is expected to rake in over $1 billion by 2019.

To put the projected total of 427 million viewers by the year 2019 in perspective, Super Bowl 50 was watched by an average of 111.9 million people at all times, falling just short of a record.

So, if you’re not familiar with eSports, you might soon find yourself not only nodding your head when someone mentions it but potentially digging right in like so many have.