What If You Had to Pay to Watch Esports?

 Esports started and grew with the idea of accessibility, online and free. In traditional sports such as football or basketball, to view these games in person or even online with a streaming service costs money. So, the hypothetical question that lies here is, what if you had to pay to watch esports?

If esports moved behind a paywall, would it have a positive or negative effect on the overall industry? Well, for starters, it could help transition esports to a more mainstream concept, in the same realm as traditional sports. It could also seriously generate income for the sport and even have more financial investors for not only the players but the investors too. Events themselves could also have an evolution, upgrading the amount of funding they can receive, leading to more global, polished, or even prestigious events. While this does sound good, it may come with some concerns.

It could sway away popularity of esports if more fees and paywalls began to be introduced to esports. The idea of being accessible, online, and free could be the reason why there is a fan base for esports. Having a paywall could also make it harder for newer fans to get into esports. But could the pros outweigh the cons? That would be something interesting to look into in the near future.

Ending note: Unrelated, but this was a fun hypothetical post to think about, and who knows, it might be something they would include in esports in the near future. 

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