eSports: A possible solution to the decline of millenial viewership during the Olympics

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: BROOK IDEN
The International Olympic Committee are currently debating whether or not to incorporate eSports into the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

A recent London Free Press article titled “Virtual Olympics might boost young audience” highlighted the current discussion of the potential incorporation of eSports into the Olympics as a way to boost millennial viewership of the Olympic Games.

Micheal Heine, the director of Western University's International Centre of Olympic Studies, explained to the Interrobang that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is aware of the increase in popularity of eSports among the target demographic the IOC is losing when it comes to Olympic viewership. Heine said that eSports received 400,000 million viewers over the course of 2017's major tournaments. Due to the growing popularity of eSports, the IOC is currently debating whether to incorporate eSports into the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

However, Heine said the IOC would have to change their definition of sport if eSports were to become an event at the Olympics.

According to a Polygon article titled “Olympic committee lays out expectations for eSports' inclusion”, back in October, the IOC held a summit where the organization acknowledged the growth of competitive gaming and that it could provide a platform for engagement with the Olympic movement. However, in order for eSports to be included into the Olympics, the content cannot infringe on Olympic values.

According to Polygon, the summit members agreed that “Competitive ‘eSports' could be considered as a sporting activity, and the players involved prepare and train with an intensity which may be comparable to athletes in traditional sports.”

Heine explained that most Olympic coverage is consumed through television. However, for millennials, television comes secondary in media consumption compared to other media channels such as social media via smart phones and other devices.

“The overall decline [in millennial viewership] has been evident from the IOC's point of view since at least the London Games. The London Games were also the first time the IOC had a sustained social media strategy,” Heine said.

Heine stated that in the past few Olympic Games, the IOC has incorporated snowboarding events, events that particularly appeals to the millennial generation, and increased their social media usage.

According to the BBC article titled “eSports: International Olympic Committee considering eSports for future Games”, eSports will be included in the 2022 Asian Games as a medal sport.

Heine said that he is against the incorporation of eSports into the Olympic Games. “It doesn't measure up to any definition of sport that I know of. The IOC will have to do some fast thinking to rationalize the inclusion of eSports as a sport by definition.”

Shaun Byrne, the eSports director for Saints Gaming at St. Clair College, said it is only a matter of time before eSports become incorporated into the Olympics. “The biggest problem I see is that unlike traditional sports where nobody “owns” the game, in eSports there are developers who own the titles, which means the Olympics would need to work deals out with these publishers to feature the games,” Byrne said in an email interview.

Fanshawe student and Fanshawe Ultimate eSports League (FUEL) member, Joey Langdon, shared his thoughts in an email on the debate of whether eSports should or should not be incorporated into the Olympics. “eSports can be as much of a sport as many of the actual Olympic events. The amount of strength and skill, mentally and physically, can be on par with Olympic Fencers and especially on par with or exceeding Rifle Shooting. Top tier eSports players, especially in games such as Starcraft or Battlegrounds, would not look out of place next to Rifle competitors or some Baseball players. It's a no-brainer for the Olympics to add some sort of eSport competition, as Starcraft and Battlegrounds competitions especially have huge viewing audiences and a large fanbase year-round, in some countries comparable to the big “money sports” like Ice Hockey and Basketball. It seems like a no-brainer to get those millions of fans to tune in to the Olympics.”

An eSports test event, called Rio De Janeiro eGames Showcase 2016, was held at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. Byrne explained that a Canadian who goes by the gamertag “Ally” won first place in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.