Summary

Spain is a shining example of the esports industry. It is frequently overlooked because it is part of the larger "European market," which can sometimes obscure the complexities of those in the Americas or Asia. However, with esports mainstays like MAD Lions and G2 Esports hailing from Spain, every esports fan is aware of the Spanish esports scene's industry impact. EA Sports' FIFA competitions are highly valued in Spain, as the home of one of the world's most important football leagues (La Liga), with a FIFA league supported by La Liga itself, the eLa Liga. Football also made an appearance in Spanish esports when FC Barcelona's Gerard Piqué teamed up with streamer Ibai Llanos to form KOI in 2021. Barcelona Football Club owns a company called Barça eSports. Spanish bank Santander and telecom company Movistar are two of the main sponsors of the local scene. Foreign esports organisations are also interested in entering the Spanish market, such as the Italian organisation QLASH, which has been investing in a rapid expansion in the country. The Spanish esports ecosystem experienced a revenue slowdown as a result of COVID-19. However, esports may gain popularity during this time period, as approximately 53% of the Spanish audience began to watch esports following the implementation of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. Furthermore, during the pandemic, more than half of existing esports consumers (around 55%) increased their consumption.

According to the research report "Spain eSports Market Overview, 2028," published by Bonafide Research, the market is expected to add USD 63.98 million by 2028.Streaming is expected to dominate the segment share during the forecast period. The growing emphasis on fan engagement is likely to fuel demand for live sports events. Furthermore, the rise in smart phone users is expected to fuel demand for live sports tournaments. Media rights are making a significant contribution to the country's esports industry. Fans can now track live esports activity across the country thanks to easy access to communication technology. Media companies pay exorbitant fees to win the exclusive rights to broadcast live streaming of major sporting events. In recent years, the sale of broadcasting and media rights has been the most important source of revenue for most esports organizers. The revenue generated by the sale of media rights is used to fund major sporting events, renovate stadiums, and contribute to the grassroots development of esports. During the forecast period, sponsorship is expected to grow rapidly, followed by advertising. As the number of viewers grows, the sponsoring team invests in the platform to strengthen its brand image. Similarly, various gaming platforms include in-app advertisements to boost revenue generation.

There have been 2,160 Spanish esports players that have been awarded a total of $10,567,428.28 in prize money across 3,052 tournaments. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was the highest awarding game, with $1,174,270.73 USD won, accounting for 11.11% of all earnings by Spanish players.Oscar "mixwell" Caellas is the highest-earning Spanish player with $322,141.61 USD in prize money won overall, with $247,538.65 USD, or 76.84%, won from playing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments. Some of the top esports games in Spain are Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Rocket League, Fortnite, Clash Royale, Rainbow Six: Siege, Hearthstone, VALORANT, Brawl Stars, Magic: The Gathering Arena, and many more. There are some top eSports players: Oscar Caellas, Daniel Romero, Alfonso Aguirre Rodriguez, Marc Domingo, Javier Dominguez, Enrique Cedeo Martinez, Juan Moreno Durán, Roberto Jiménez, Pedro Moreno Durán, Dani Moreno, and many more. Many eSports tournaments exist, such as Gamers8 2022 (RL), Six Invitational 2019, Fortnite World Cup Finals 2019 - Creative, eLaLiga 2020, Clash Royale League 2020 World Finals, Fortnite Fall Skirmish Series - Club Standings, PUBG Challenge Gamescom 2018, F1 Esports Series 2021, Mythic Championship V 2019, Fortnite World Cup Finals 2019 - Solo, and many more.

Despite the lack of an official, specific regulation for esports in the country, the Spanish government included esports in the "Spain Audiovisual Hub Program," a development project for the audiovisual industry. It was launched in 2021 with the goal of increasing the overall Spanish multimedia production industry by 30% by 2025. Initiatives in Spain are being mobilised to provide qualified workers for the country's large number of professional esports organisations. GGTech, an event organiser, even lists "education" as one of the three pillars of its strategy. Recently, the Italian organisation QLASH announced a collaboration with ESIC Business & Marketing School Valencia to improve professional development in the esports and gaming industries.

The beginning transition from a B2B to a B2C esports ecosystem that follows this pandemic scenario provides a promising Research Report for the Spanish esports sector: approximately 26% of Spanish consumers aged 16 to 65 have purchased esports-related products and services, compared to approximately 17% the previous year. In addition, the Spanish esports audience is an intriguing target for monetization. Approximately 80% of these consumers, aged 16 to 65, are employed and have a medium-high monthly income (1,822 € on average versus 965 € as the minimum inter professional wage). To sum up, the most frequent consumers are especially young: approximately 76% are under 40—digital natives with a growing proclivity to use new generation content channels.

Numerous factors, such as increased video game awareness and the popularity of Esports, are driving the country's growth in the Esports market. Long-term investment initiatives by large corporations, as well as an increase in the number of tournaments with large prize pools, create rewarding opportunities in the market during the forecast period. The growing use of smart phones in the world's developing economies is due to a variety of factors, including an increase in per capita income, affordability, multiple low-cost options with significant features, and many others. As the demand for esports events increases, it will create lucrative opportunities for the esports industry.

As the esports business is still in its early stages, both organisations and players confront a number of challenges. Many tournament participants and gamers have difficulty determining the legitimacy of tournaments. With the increasing number of tournaments comes an increase in the number of scams and fraudsters, posing challenges for genuine and legitimate esports tournament organizers. The lack of standardisation in the esports industry reflects the ongoing difficulties that players, tournaments, teams, and their advertising, sponsorships, or contracts face.

Considered in this report
• Geography: Spain
• Historic year: 2017
• Base year: 2022
• Estimated year: 2023
• Forecast year: 2028

Aspects covered in this report
• Spain esports market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Revenue Streams:
• Sponsorship
• Media Rights
• Merchandise & Tickets
• Publisher Fees
• Digital
• Streaming

By Device Type:
• Mobile (Smartphone, Tablet)
• PC (Laptop, Desktop)
• Gaming Device (Console, Handheld Devices)
• Other (VR, Smart TV, etc.)

The approach of the report:
This report consists of a combined approach of primary as well as secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and list out the companies that are present in the market. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, and annual reports of companies, analyzing the government-generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources primary research was conducted by making telephonic interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducting trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this we have started doing primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting consumers into regional aspects, tier aspects, age groups, and gender. Once we have primary data with us we started verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience
This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to the esport industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.