PayPal Report on Esports in Europe 2020

PayPal Report:

1. Introduction
2. Methodology and Scope
3. European Esports Growth
4. COVID -19: Impact on Gaming and Esports
5. Women in Esports
6. Esports and Traditional Sports Relationship
7. Esports Enthusiasts Spending Behavior

© Copyright 2020 Newzoo
Europe and Esports: High Engagement and Even Higher Potential
3
The past decade has seen the popularity of esports skyrocket
throughout Europe and the rest of the world . Audience
numbers are rapidly rising, for Esports Enthusiasts and
Occasional Viewers alike .And just like in the wider games
market, this engagement is translating into increased revenues .
With this audience and revenue growth comes an unmissable
opportunity for brands, not only for those within the ecosystem
but for those outside too .Competitive gaming is atrailblazer in
every sense of the word, and sports, media, and consumer
brands from San Francisco to Shanghai are already taking note .
As esports continues to innovate ways to engage audiences
(and monetize them with services and products they love), the
already invaluable opportunity is only growing more valuable .
While esports has faced some challenges due to the pandemic,
both the demand and supply of esports content are bigger
than ever before .
Many brands can increase their marketing muscle, direct
revenues, and more by paying attention to and leveraging this
exciting market and its engaged, ever -growing audience .
In this report, based on research conducted by PayPal and
Newzoo, we explore the esports ecosystem in Europe .We
conducted the research in the United Kingdom, Germany,
France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Norway, Finland,
and Sweden, examining topics ranging from viewing behavior
to spending .
We hope you find this report insightful and useful for shaping
your understanding of the European esports ecosystem, for
2020 and the years to come .
People will watch
esports around the
world in 2020 .
VP of Research, Newzoo
Head of Esports, Newzoo
VP, PayPal Europe

© Copyright 2020 Newzoo
Europe and Esports: High Engagement and Even Higher Potential
4
The aim of this Custom Consumer Research project is to highlight the unique dynamics of
Europe’s esports ecosystem .More specifically, the research shines aspotlight on avariety
of topics, including esports viewing behavior, spending habits, barriers to online payments,
the impact of COVID -19 ,and the increasing role of women as consumers in esports .
We surveyed 10,175 esports viewers across Western and Northern Europe.
These respondents were aged 18 -45 and are nationally representative of esports viewers
within each country.
We sent out invitation -only surveys to
respondents. Research was conducted over a period of one month (May 29 –June 28,
2020).
People who watch professional esports content more than once a
month, in the last 12 months.
People who watch professional esports content, on average, less than
once amonth ,in the last 12 months .
People who watch professional esports content in the last 12 months
(Esports Enthusiasts and Occasional Viewers) .
Anyone who has watched professional esports content.
Digital esports -related products include in -game team –
branded skins, stickers and other digital accessories, as well as any premium esports
content passes that allow premium access to esports content, such as player point -of -view
(POV) streams and exclusive media.
Includes apparel and/or accessories related to
esports teams, tournaments, and leagues.
All paywalled over -the -top (OTT) viewing content related to
esports.

© Copyright 2020 Newzoo
Europe and Esports: High Engagement and Even Higher Potential
5
Occasional Viewers
Esports Enthusiasts
©Newzoo | 2020 Global Esports Market Report |
Due to rounding, Esports Enthusiasts and Occasional Viewers do not add up to the total audience in 2020.
The European esports audience will grow to 92 million by the end of 2020 ,up +7.4% from
the previous year .Esports Enthusiasts will account for 33 million of Europe’s audience, with
Occasional Viewers making up the remaining 59 million .In terms of revenues, the global
esports market is on track for explosive growth .It will generate $973 .9 million in 2020 ,
growing to $1.6billion by 2023 .Revenues in Europe are on track for similar growth .
18 – 20 21 – 25 26 – 30 31 – 35 36 – 40 41 – 45
Esports Enthusiasts are not as young as you
might think .Only 33 % of esports viewers
aged 18–20 watched esports several times a
month .People aged 21–25 were most likely
to be Esports Enthusiasts .
The distribution of Esports Enthusiasts
differed across countries .In Finland, 52 % of
those aged 18–20 were Esports Enthusiasts,
compared to only 21% in the U.K.
2018 2019 2020
+9.7%YoY
+7.4%YoY
33M
TotalAudience
TotalAudience
TotalAudience

© Copyright 2020 Newzoo
Europe and Esports: High Engagement and Even Higher Potential
7
Of those we surveyed, viewers in markets
faced most COVID -19 restrictions were
likeliest to say their esports viewership
increased .This is unsurprising, as these
countries had stricter lockdown
measures, making viewers even likelier to
watch esports (for escapism and filling
time) .
Esports -viewing habits in the Nordic
countries, including Finland, Norway, and
Sweden, seemed to be least impacted by
COVID -19 .It may be tempting to attribute
this to lenient restrictions (as in Sweden),
but Norway and Finland had tougher
lockdown measures .
of respondents who said they spent
more time watching esports expressed
they will continue to watch even after
the lockdown measures are lifted .
Respondents in Spain and the U.K.had
the highest share of those who said they
will continue to watch more after
lockdown (62 %).
Spent more time watching esports
Same amount of time watching esports
Spent less time watching esports
Likely
Don’t know
Unlikely
Spain
U.K.
Italy
France
Netherlands
Belgium
Germany
Sweden
Finland
Norway

© Copyright 2020 Newzoo
Europe and Esports: High Engagement and Even Higher Potential
Male Occasional
Viewers
Male Esports
Enthusiasts
Female Esports
Enthusiasts
Female Occasional
Viewers
Non -binary
gender
9
Despite popular belief, women are already engaged with esports .Just under athird (32 %)
of the esports audience we surveyed were women, with the majority being Occasional
Viewers .
While women’s engagement is growing on an enthusiast level, there are also more women
entering the market as competitors .In 2019 ,for example, an all -female pro League of
Legends team competed in the LCL, the highest level of professional League of Legends
competition in Russia .While the team underperformed, it sparked conversations about the
role of women in the scene .Increasing female participation is reflected in the survey results .
In this research, we asked male and female esports viewers about their attitudes toward
female participation in esports, what they think about male, female, and mixed esports
tournaments, and —vitally —whether they feel that female participation is growing .
Around 60 % of Europe’s esports audience agreed that the number of women participating
in esports is growing .
Of the Esports Audience in France, 68 % indicated they were interested in mixed -gender
esports tournaments, with afurther 27 % saying their interest didn’t depend on gender .
Male
Female

© Copyright 2020 Newzoo
Europe and Esports: High Engagement and Even Higher Potential
10
of the European female esports audience
spent money on esports -related products in
the past 12 months —compared to 46 % of the
male esports audience .
of women who spent money on esports –
related products in the last 12 months
bought physical merchandise, compared to
only 38 % of male esports spenders .
Men are likelier to be Esports Enthusiasts
(38 %)compared to women (27 %).However,
despite being slightly less engaged in
esports, the female esports audience is just
as, if not more likely, to have spent money
on esports products in the last 12 months .
While women preferred physical esports
merchandise, such as team -sponsored gear,
men preferred digital merchandise ,such as
in-game skins or stickers .
Female esports audience members in Spain were the most likely to indicate they had spent
money on esports -related products (56 %),followed closely by Italy (53 %)and France (51%).
Just 27 % of women in Finland’s esports audience indicated they spent money on esports –
related products in the past year, compared to 43 % of men .
Male Female
Yes
No
Physical Merchandise
Digital Merchandise
Betting or Wagering
Premium Esports Content Passes
are aged
21 to 30
have a full –
time job
lives with a
partner and kids
have high
income

© Copyright 2020 Newzoo
Europe and Esports: High Engagement and Even Higher Potential
12
of the Esports Audience in Europe
have afavourite esports team, while
64 % of those same esports viewers
have afavourite sports team .
Soccer is incredibly popular in Europe (especially Western Europe), which is reflected in the
region’s esports scene .More than aquarter of Esports Enthusiasts in the markets covered
watched Rocket League esports content in the last 12 months, making it the sixth -most –
popular esports franchise in these markets .Relatively speaking, the market that views
Rocket League most is the U.K.,with 34 % of Esports Enthusiasts watching .Auto Racing is
especially popular in Italy, which likely pushed iRacing’s Italy -based viewership during the
lockdown period (racing organizations like NASCAR switched to iRacing during their real –
world sport’s cancelation) .
Belgium Germany Spain Finland France Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden U.K.
Football Tennis Basketball Auto Racing Cycling
64%
have a favorite sports team
37%
have a favorite esports team
Real Madrid and Barcelona were the European
Esports Audience’s two favourite teams .
of respondents who are FC
Barcelona fans were interested in
their favourite sports team
branching out (further) into esports
(74 % of Real Madrid fans) .

© Copyright 2020 Newzoo
Europe and Esports: High Engagement and Even Higher Potential
14
Esports Enthusiasts in Spain
were most likely to spend on
esports products, with 62 %
indicating they had done so
in the past 12 months .
Esports Enthusiasts estimated
that 45 % of the money they
spent on digital esports
products was for others, the
largest share of which went to
their partners (19 %).
of Esports Enthusiasts who spent
money purchased team -specific digital
merchandise, including skins, banners,
and other content .Cosmetic goods,
such as in-game skins, where valued
over more functional items .
Across all markets, 58 % of
Esports Enthusiasts spent
money on esports -related
products, compared to just
37 % of Occasional Viewers .
#1
#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10
Yourself
Partner
Kids
Friends
Others
Team -specific digital merchandise
Esports -related physical merchandise
Premium esports content passes