Twitch, other eSports services to reach 310m viewers by 2020

Online eSports services such as Twitch will grow their audience base to more than 310 million by 2020, surpassing comparable NFL audiences, according to Juniper Research.

The ‘Digital Games: eSports 2015-2020’ report claims that eSports is “on the cusp of significant growth” with tournaments and prize pools also expanding in size and value.

Juniper estimates that revenues will increase by almost 250% between 2015 and 2020 to reach almost US$1 billion by 2020, as viewers show an increased willingness to subscribe to online eSports channels and broadcasters.

In 2014 eSports attracted 102 million global viewers, compared to 220 million unique viewers for NFL and 400 million for Formula 1 racing, according to the research.

“An increased audience, as well as greater impact from the most popular eSports broadcasters will see user adoption of the subscription model increase. Consumers will also begin to spend more time viewing eSports content in general, leading to an increase in terms of ad impressions,” said Juniper research analyst Lauren Foye.