35% of UK adults aware of esports - but only 7% watch it
YouGov study puts Britain at the bottom of the table when compared to China, the US, Germany and more
New research shows that awareness of esports in the UK is reasonably high. The active viewership, however, has plenty of room for growth.
A new report by analytics firm YouGov claims that over a third of UK adults (35% to be exact) is aware of various professional gaming leagues, translating to 18.3m people.
Of these, only one in five have actually watched esports coverage before. This equates to 3.6m people, or 7% of the UK's total population.
The study is based on a "nationally representative" study of 9,473 adults. While the focus of the results is the 2,087 UK participants, adults were also surveyed in Germany, the US, Australia, China and Singapore for comparison.
That comparison actually places the UK at the bottom of the six countries surveyed. China and Singapore lead with awareness ratings of 77% and 55%, with the rest ranking between 44% and 41%.
Awareness of esports within the UK rises from 35% to 64% when you concentrate on adults aged 18 to 24. When looking at all male respondents, just under half are aware of esports.
Of the people who have watched esports before, YouGov reports that 57% - nearly three in five - would watch it again. 7% already watch on a weekly base, while 15% tune in once a month.
8% of UK adults, translated at 4.4m people, say they woudl be interested in watching esports in future.