Nielsen & Twitch Explore Esports Fans’ Preferences

• Nielsen looks into Twitch esports fans TV habits
• The steaming platform’s Research Power Group and Nielsen seek closer collaboration
• Less than 40% of esports fans watch TV

Data intelligence firm Nielsen has established that esports fans are far less likely to watch traditional, linear TV. The insight is based on data gleaned from Twitch’s esports community.

A Twitch Revolution

According to data intelligence company Nielsen, esports fans are far more unlikely to watch traditional TV compared to any other group. Estimated 40% of Twitch esports’ viewers admitted to watching television, with the numbers falling quickly.

Only 50% of the same group said they were paying for any sort of subscription TV service. Nielsen sought the opinion of the esports community engaged primarily with titles, such as League of Legends, Overwatch, and Fortnite over a 12-month period.

Apart from gleaning low viewership numbers in terms of TV engagement, Nielsen also established continuity of the experience with esports fans following the industry for years. On a national level, the United States’ esports engagement is gauged at one-in-five in terms of long-term esports following.

Long-Term Esports Engagement & Following

In simple words, 20% of all esports fans have been following competitive video gaming for at least 4 years, the data revealed. Nielsen probed other interesting statistics as well, finding out that 70% of Twitch viewers allocated more time to esports than they did to actual sports, although the numbers could be higher.

There’s still some residual stigma to overlooking physical activity, which may have prompted people to cast themselves as more physically active than they truly are.

Nielsen collaborated with the Twitch Research Power Group (RPG), preparing a special survey which was distributed between 2,000 users aged 18-to-40.

In itself, the survey may not be exactly revolutionary as its main findings are that esports fans do less physical activity and they shun entertainment media that are not directly linked to their hobbies. However, Nielsen Esports Managing Director Nicole Pike is confident that such insights could lead to the better understanding of the behavioral patterns of the community as a whole.

Ms. Pike outlined the importance of platforms such as Twitch because of their rich data troves and comprehensive in-depth statistics that can allow Nielsen to work on delivering accurate insights. Nielsen, Ms. Pike said, was “thrilled to work with Twitch as it marked a natural evolution for the company’s annual research.”

Twitch was equally thrilled to be collaborating with an established data company such as Nielsen. Twitch VP Advertiser Marketing Andrea Garabedian was equally excited at the opportunity of the two companies working closer together.

By providing Nielsen with an opportunity to survey our community, they were able to surface data that reflects the passionate nature of our esports fans. – Andrea Garabedian

The scope of exploration included a total of 20 esports titles available and followed by Twitch fans. Nielsen will use the data it has found to incorporate it into its annual report covering the entirety of the esports service as well as use the data for further consulting services.