eSports viewing almost doubled in 2013

New numbers suggest the boom in eSports is showing no sign of abating.

Gamasutra reports that IHS Technology data suggests 2.4bn hours of eSports were viewed throughout 2013. That’s nearly double the 1.3bn watched in 2012. Furthermore, it estimates that this will have climbed to 6.6bn hours by 2018, by which time it will be generating global revenue of $300bn per year.

League of Legends was the most viewed title followed by Dota 2 and Starcraft II. China remains the largest market followed by the US and South Korea.

"While advertising in and around games has often proved to be a difficult proposition, advertising in online video is commonplace,” IHS director Piers Harding-Rolls said.

This form of advertising gives games companies a much better opportunity of accessing the advertising value chain in a successful and meaningful way and offers these companies a route to profitable return on investment from their eSport initiatives."