Activision Blizzard Media Networks Announces Record Esports Viewership

[HardOCP News]

So does anyone still think this whole eSports thing is just a fad? There is no denying that numbers like these are extremely impressive, especially considering we are talking about video game viewership. While I wouldn't start comparing it to the Super Bowl any time soon, 1.6 million concurrent viewers is nothing to sneeze at.

Activision Blizzard Media Networks, a division of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), today announced that Major League Gaming’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship (CS:GO Major) set new viewership records during its March 30 – April 3 broadcast from Columbus, Ohio. Audiences generated 71 million video views,1 watched a record-breaking 45 million hours of live broadcast2 and set a new record of 1.6 million concurrent viewers across OTT, web, mobile and in-game streaming during this year’s event.

 

[cptnjarhead]

Personally, i cannot see myself watching this, but i cannot deny the popularity of it.
My son streams CS all the time, i just do not see the attraction.

 

[Yakk]

At some points I believe they even overtook LOL NA streaming, which is an impressive feat onto itself! (though LOL still has an absolutely massive overall amount of esports streaming worldwide when you combine all the regions)

We are really starting to see big money to be made here.

 

[GT98]

Personally, i cannot see myself watching this, but i cannot deny the popularity of it.
My son streams CS all the time, i just do not see the attraction.

Same here....The "fun" of gaming is doing yourself, not watching someone else play it...then again Professional Sports are huge...but that normally takes physical talent

 

[NickJames]

Personally, i cannot see myself watching this, but i cannot deny the popularity of it.
My son streams CS all the time, i just do not see the attraction.

Literally exactly the same as athletic sports. We have favorite teams, favorite players, we like to see crazy plays and awesome calls. The tactics behind it, the skill level, we even have fantasy teams. I have no doubt esports will see a big role on places like ESPN and Fox in due time. The digital entertainment age has just begun and it's here to stay.