Analyst firm IHS Technology reports the number of esports viewing hours globally has nearly doubled, from 1.3 billion in 2012 to 2.4 billion in 2013.
“(Viewing esports videos) has rapidly transformed from a niche activity into a widely watched, global, cross-platform entertainment category,” said IHS analyst and author of the report Dan Cryan.
Dota 2, League of Legends and StarCraft II are the most popular spectator games worldwide, according to the report, with China, the US and Korea having the largest audiences for top competitive titles.
IHS also notes that the monthly worldwide audience on online streaming service Twitch has more than doubled, from 20 million at the end of 2012 to 45 million at the end of 2013.
“Key game titles have reached maturity and game publishers are taking a major role in promoting esports competitions. Furthermore, esports viewing has been boosted by the emergence of online video platforms that are capable of handling large-scale live audiences,” added Cryan.
