How COVID-19 pushed the eSports Industry? The advent of Covid-19 revolutionized our lives, to say the least. The pandemic shifted our ways of thinking of living together to the most fundamental level: we have not been able to enjoy quality time with our extended family, to go to crowded places like museums, and enjoy our hobbies. Sports, in particular, has always been a staple practice in bringing people together, cheering for a team or betting on a contestant. Sports draw large numbers of people in their audience and, thus, have been hit really hard by the restrictions and lockdowns that came with Covid-19. However, new alternatives have been found to keep tournaments and matches going: eSports.
Free sports streaming sites
eSports have faced increasing popularity in the past few years. Several free sports streaming sites have been set up; others have been made available to the public behind a subscription paywall or pay-per-view system. These websites have made it possible for sports fans to access their favorite sports events from the comfort of their own homes. eSports streaming is most definitely set to continue growing: tech-companies, also due to the spread of the virus which has called for people to be confined, are investing heavily in these telematic services.
Watch football online free
Football, for instance, is one of the most popular and followed sports worldwide. Usually, stadiums are filled to the brim with fans, cheering on their preferred team. This communal experience has been halted by Covid-19. Online streaming platforms for football have been growing with the past few years, with more and more online services purchasing rights to broadcast certain tournaments and a consequent gradual drifting away from TV. Some of these platforms even allow the viewer to watch football online, free. This change in how we experience sports as sports enthusiasts most certainly will have effects beyond the pandemic. Football aficionados often follow the team they support around the world for important matches. This practice isn’t always accessible physically and economically for everyone – streaming the match online solves the problem and it’s incredibly convenient for the consumer.
In addition to watching sports, fans also like to bet on their favorite team or athlete. Sports betting is usually carried out in betting centers. Due to the pandemic, however, all these places of aggregation and non-essential service have been made to shut down. As a consequence, sports betting has also had to move online. eSports betting is not always permitted everywhere but it has increased in popularity due to Coronavirus restrictions. Online sports betting is, like streaming services, not entirely a novelty. However, if before only a fraction of the business took place online, once the pandemic hit sports betting had to digitalize all of its services – where permitted due to gambling regulations.
Overall, the eSports business is not completely new to the sports scene. In fact, these services have gradually been introduced in the last few years as sports events migrated away from television. With the pandemic, it was necessary for these services to increase in size and make sports accessible to everyone, at a distance. Safety measures to prevent the spread of the virus, essentially, gave tech companies the opportunity to invest in these services. Additionally, other practices related to sports, such as betting, also had to move to the internet. These rapid changes showed the adaptability of modern technologies and their ability to overcome difficulties. In such a hard moment like the pandemic, the ludic experience of sports has been fundamental for many people’s wellbeing. Online sports services, thanks to governmental restrictions which shut down stadiums and other places where people commonly form crowds, have made this reality possible and accessible.
