Through the last few months the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been looking at the esports rise. Countries like South Korea and France has come forward advocating the potentiality of it being an Olympic Sport and the IOC has come to see as the same as well. Which leads to the question who needs who the most? Who would benefit the most from a possible partnership with each other?

Why Esports need the Olympics?

Creates more quality of hype for other international events around the specific esport.

Esports organizations are not geo specific but global in scale. Ranging from different games to different teams all across the world. The Olympics gives chance to add more international hype that hasn’t been there for esports. The most notable country led tournaments in esports so far has been the World Electronic Sports Games that features different esports like Counter Strike Global Offensive, Hearthstone, DotA 2 and Starcraft 2. And then there is the Overwatch World Cup which is in its second year of operations and working on whatever issues that is needed. As one sees there isn’t much going on international wise. But the Olympics can change that for certain esports such as Rocket League, as they can use it towards boosting the World Cup that they currently have from a show match that is currently is, to an more important and more of a prize pool event for esports with the addition of the Olympics.

It gives more legitimacy as an official sport for the space.

A lot of the big sports that is around today barring American Football and Baseball (which was an Olympic Sport but was taken out after the 2008 Olympics and coming back 2020 in Tokyo) But a way to really gain that sport legitimacy is through being a solid Olympic sport. It has done well in gain more credibility through the owners of NBA, and MLB franchises by buying teams. But to have esports up there as an Olympic sport with Basketball and Track and Field can really add on to it as well. And as they say that they are not using athletic talents, the IOC allows shooting and archery as Olympic events.

Why the Olympics need Esports?

The young demographic of Esports fans.

According to a Nielsen report “How different genders, ages, races and regions watch the Olympics” the younger viewers aged 18-49, compared to the NFL Super Bowl, are 20% percent less likely to watch the Olympics. Meanwhile that demo that is missing from the Olympics are strong in Esports. Another article from Nielsen “The 2016 Nielsen Esports Report” Says that 61% of male viewers of esports are Millenials. Adding that to the overall growth of the Esports space, makes it very good for esports to get involved quickly. Also with getting Twitch involved as an partner and have streams of the esports event with subscribers and emotes as well would be connecting to that digital base even more as 71% of people who watch Esports is online.

Microtransactions.

Getting developers to have special Olympic skins and add-ons in certain games like Rocket League and FIFA can be another money maker. For example, Activision Blizzard made over 2 billion dollars off micotransactions alone last year. You can have the games allow the IOC logo and logos for the different Olympiads throughout time, and have a split of the royalties for the developers and the IOC themselves.

With the way things are going, it is only a matter of time before Esports gets going as an Olympic Sport. With looking at the viewerships from both, Olympic Sports need Esports more than vice versa. They have the young fanbase the IOC needs and they have more money making opportunities from being involved in esports as well. They can though, still need to work together and make things happen.



