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EVER 2009 OSL viewership shows why OSL is awesome

Forum Index > BW General
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konadora *
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
Singapore66363 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-29 04:33:29
January 29 2010 04:33 GMT
#1
[image loading]


All stats are relative to the time of the broadcast of the finals between Flash and Movie.

- #1 watched show
- 1.7% viewership rate for males of age group 13 to 29 (according to AGB Nielson Media Research)
- Viewers on PotPlayer: 40,057
- Viewers on official OGN server: 23,403
      - Led to server crashes
- Total # of viewers: 525,000
- Approx. 8000 people attended the event live
- Among the 8000, approx 3000 people had to be moved elsewhere as there was insufficient space in the Olympic Hall, where the event was held
      - As a result, the event was delayed by 10 minutes
- On the Korean search engines, the most searched terms were 'Lee Young Ho', 'OSL Finals', 'OnGameNet' and other related terms
- On Korean forums, approximately 3800 posts were made during the games

With these statistics, OGN has promised to continue upgrading their services and thanked all e-sports fans for their continued support and interest.
POGGERS
Kenpachi
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
United States9908 Posts
January 29 2010 04:33 GMT
#2
:O!!!!!!!!!! sweet stats
Nada's body is South Korea's greatest weapon.
Ethelis
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
United States2399 Posts
January 29 2010 04:34 GMT
#3
awesome! now how about them guys at MBC, eh?
Disabled gamer - Diamond 3 (LoL) D+ Rank scrublord on BW. Bisu doesnt need DTs, He uses probes. just ask Flash.
DoctorHelvetica
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
United States15034 Posts
January 29 2010 04:35 GMT
#4
Nice stats. OGN imba
RIP Aaliyah
Gann1
Profile Joined July 2009
United States1575 Posts
January 29 2010 04:37 GMT
#5
I can't wait to be provided with upgraded sportainments.
I drop suckas like Plinko
Husky
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
United States3362 Posts
January 29 2010 04:38 GMT
#6
Half a million? Wow. That actually seems kind of low. Are around 49 million people in South Korea (I believe?).

Either way, the OSL is awesome and it wasnt even that much of a hyped event. ESPORTS
Commentaries: youtube.com/HuskyStarcraft
Noxide
Profile Joined July 2009
United States2870 Posts
January 29 2010 04:39 GMT
#7
That is awesome, MSL probably got the same amount of forum posts but mostly flames and threats :D.
Flash ひなの戦争の王である || しかし、実際にはヤフーの ファンタジーサッカー、楽しいプレー私の週末を占めている
iamho
Profile Joined June 2009
United States3347 Posts
January 29 2010 04:40 GMT
#8
500k viewers total? that seems really bad
Hyaach
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Singapore1737 Posts
January 29 2010 04:42 GMT
#9
man imagine MBC could have report an exact same thing maybe with even more viewership if not for the screw up
Thailand is my new obsession
dukethegold
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Canada5645 Posts
January 29 2010 04:43 GMT
#10
Didn't MBC say that there are 20 million e-sport fans? O.o

I suppose those are good numbers? (It should be expected of a sport final after all, unless there is another sport final competing)

I am pretty curious about the MBC stats. I think it may actually be higher because it was Jaedong v.s. Flash. The forum post count should DEFINITELY be higher, because of the flaming and death threats. :O
Disregard
Profile Blog Joined March 2007
China10252 Posts
January 29 2010 04:43 GMT
#11
The viewership is relatively low to be honest. I actually prefer MSL commentary and excitement over the epicness of the OSL, but ZvZ finals and shitty work by MBC has to screw it over.
"If I had to take a drug in order to be free, I'm screwed. Freedom exists in the mind, otherwise it doesn't exist."
CTStalker
Profile Blog Joined November 2004
Canada9720 Posts
January 29 2010 05:01 GMT
#12
you guys think 500k viewers is low? lol wtf? i bet that was the most since boxer vs oov
By the way, my name is Funk. I am not of your world
Megalisk
Profile Blog Joined October 2008
United States6095 Posts
January 29 2010 05:06 GMT
#13
On January 29 2010 13:40 iamho wrote:
500k viewers total? that seems really bad


500k viewers watching a 10 year old computer game being played is in no way "bad".
Tear stained american saints and dirty guitar dreams across a universe of desert and blue sky , gas station coffee love letters and two dollar pistol kisses from thirty five dollar hotel room stationary .
AssuredVacancy
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
United States1167 Posts
January 29 2010 05:08 GMT
#14
Remember that figure is only for live. Many people might have things to attend to so they couldn't watch the game(Esp. north american fans)
We spend our youth attaining wealth, and our wealth attaining youth.
justiceknight
Profile Blog Joined May 2008
Singapore5741 Posts
January 29 2010 05:12 GMT
#15
do they have the stats for MSL finals?
SonuvBob
Profile Blog Joined October 2006
Aiur21550 Posts
January 29 2010 05:17 GMT
#16
On January 29 2010 13:33 konadora wrote:
- On Korean forums, approximately 3800 posts were made during the games

[image loading]


(ok so not all of them were made during the games, but still :p)
Administrator
Sharp-eYe
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Canada642 Posts
January 29 2010 05:17 GMT
#17
and they said esports was dying there.
Are you truly so blinded by your vaunted religion, that you can't see the fall ahead of you? - Zeratul III AKA WikidSik ingame (anygame)
skronch
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
United States2717 Posts
January 29 2010 05:24 GMT
#18
It's really incredible that so many people follow Starcraft
RoieTRS
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
United States2569 Posts
January 29 2010 05:25 GMT
#19
It was pretty fun to watch in front of my computer too.
konadora, in Racenilatr's blog: "you need to stop thinking about starcraft or anything computer-related for that matter. It's becoming a bad addiction imo"
Sharp-eYe
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Canada642 Posts
January 29 2010 05:25 GMT
#20
On January 29 2010 14:06 Megalisk wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 29 2010 13:40 iamho wrote:
500k viewers total? that seems really bad


500k viewers watching a 10 year old computer game being played is in no way "bad".

im not sure but thats as close as the numbers are here for hockey right or baskeyball?
Are you truly so blinded by your vaunted religion, that you can't see the fall ahead of you? - Zeratul III AKA WikidSik ingame (anygame)
Sharp-eYe
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Canada642 Posts
January 29 2010 05:26 GMT
#21
On January 29 2010 13:43 Disregard wrote:
The viewership is relatively low to be honest. I actually prefer MSL commentary and excitement over the epicness of the OSL, but ZvZ finals and shitty work by MBC has to screw it over.

they need to put the MSL commentators in the OSL.
Are you truly so blinded by your vaunted religion, that you can't see the fall ahead of you? - Zeratul III AKA WikidSik ingame (anygame)
Shikyo
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
Finland33997 Posts
January 29 2010 05:36 GMT
#22
"- On Korean forums, approximately 3800 posts were made during the games"

I find it funny that just Teamliquid.net's live report thread of the finals had more posts than all the Korean forums had combined, in every thread.
League of Legends EU West, Platinum III | Yousei Teikoku is the best thing that has ever happened to music.
We Are Here
Profile Blog Joined October 2006
Australia1810 Posts
January 29 2010 05:42 GMT
#23
On January 29 2010 14:25 Sharp-eYe wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 29 2010 14:06 Megalisk wrote:
On January 29 2010 13:40 iamho wrote:
500k viewers total? that seems really bad


500k viewers watching a 10 year old computer game being played is in no way "bad".

im not sure but thats as close as the numbers are here for hockey right or baskeyball?
yeah id like to know how well it compares with other sports; because, quite frankly, i have no idea if thats a good number xD

okay i just did a quick wiki search for the AFL finals television viewers. each year got roughly 3ish million, so 500k dont seem like a lot =[
He who turns those around him into allies, possesses the most terrifying ability in the world.
Waffles
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Romania605 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-29 05:46:17
January 29 2010 05:45 GMT
#24
500,000 is definitely a very rounded number. there were at least 10,000 people on TL streams which dont count to this number. does OGN require cable? kinda like ESPN? or is it public TV
BloodDrunK
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Bangladesh2767 Posts
January 29 2010 05:46 GMT
#25
OGN clearly showed MBC how to hold a final.dare i not speak of that moment again.
You have the power to create your own destiny.
Sharp-eYe
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Canada642 Posts
January 29 2010 05:48 GMT
#26
On January 29 2010 14:36 Shikyo wrote:
"- On Korean forums, approximately 3800 posts were made during the games"

I find it funny that just Teamliquid.net's live report thread of the finals had more posts than all the Korean forums had combined, in every thread.

because they were all talking about it real life. we dont have the luxury
Are you truly so blinded by your vaunted religion, that you can't see the fall ahead of you? - Zeratul III AKA WikidSik ingame (anygame)
Mystlord *
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
United States10264 Posts
January 29 2010 05:48 GMT
#27
I have a feeling that MBC will post similar statistics, but with one difference:

Viewer satisfaction.
It is impossible to be a citizen if you don't make an effort to understand the most basic activities of your government. It is very difficult to thrive in an increasingly competitive world if you're a nation of doods.
baubo
Profile Joined September 2008
China3370 Posts
January 29 2010 06:06 GMT
#28
Is there a ratings meter in Korea? Absolute numbers don't really mean much. Comparisons with other sports shows, scripted shows, reality tv, variety shows are more indicative of success.

I will say that esports has to be some of the cheapest shows ever produced. The players make so little comparable to TV personalities. The coaches probably make salaryman money. They have the same booth for just about all the matches except for the finals. They don't exactly need much to sustain it's viability.
Meh
exp
Profile Joined December 2008
New Zealand91 Posts
January 29 2010 11:07 GMT
#29
OGN are awesome indeed.

Now they just need a stable service for foreigners. Could probably make a little money with a reasonably priced premium service. Then again it probably wouldn't be worthwhile.
MrHoon *
Profile Blog Joined April 2008
10183 Posts
January 29 2010 11:11 GMT
#30
nielson scale is a terrible way to record viewership ratings in Korea
especially when most 'basic cable' in kyeongkido doesn't have OGN (they have MBCgame instead)
Not to mention there are still ALOT of people without cable here


PS: The highest rated cable show in Korea last year (excluding news etc) had a nielson scale rating of 5%.
dats racist
FaCE_1
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
Canada6184 Posts
January 29 2010 11:15 GMT
#31
On January 29 2010 14:25 Sharp-eYe wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 29 2010 14:06 Megalisk wrote:
On January 29 2010 13:40 iamho wrote:
500k viewers total? that seems really bad


500k viewers watching a 10 year old computer game being played is in no way "bad".

im not sure but thats as close as the numbers are here for hockey right or baskeyball?

Habs have probably a million viewer when they are good and up to 2 millions when in the series.
But you can't compare sports and e-sports viewer.
n_n
thunk
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
United States6233 Posts
January 29 2010 11:23 GMT
#32
MBC could have crushed those numbers (they still might have) but unfortunately they're not in the business of competence.
Every time Jung Myung Hoon builds a vulture, two probes die. || My post count was a palindrome and I was never posting again.
Velr
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
Switzerland10888 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-29 11:24:52
January 29 2010 11:23 GMT
#33
Now they just need to learn how to fix their brackets instead of this random bullshit.


500'000 is not really that much? How many people live in Korea?
meegrean
Profile Joined May 2008
Thailand7699 Posts
January 29 2010 11:28 GMT
#34
The OSL is just so awesome. My favorite tournament to watch.
Brood War loyalist
Foucault
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
Sweden2826 Posts
January 29 2010 11:45 GMT
#35
Those stats don't sound good at all to me. 1,7% of the young males? I expected it to be WAY higher. Half a million viewers, what? That's not much. 8000 people attending an OSL finals is probably a new low?
I know that deep inside of you there's a humongous set of testicles just waiting to pop out. Let 'em pop bro. //////////////////// AKA JensOfSweden // Lee Yoon Yeol forever.
thunk
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
United States6233 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-29 11:48:57
January 29 2010 11:46 GMT
#36
On January 29 2010 20:23 Velr wrote:
Now they just need to learn how to fix their brackets instead of this random bullshit.


500'000 is not really that much? How many people live in Korea?


About 50 million.

About 1% watched the OSL finals.

I don't know about thing about TV viewership, except that the world cup finals was watched by 33% of the population of the world. 2 billion people or something.

Well it must mean something because it did pick up a shiny new sponsor, Korean Air. The MSL might continue to be sponsored by random mmorpgs.
Every time Jung Myung Hoon builds a vulture, two probes die. || My post count was a palindrome and I was never posting again.
Wings
Profile Joined January 2010
United States999 Posts
January 29 2010 12:21 GMT
#37
On January 29 2010 20:45 Foucault wrote:
Those stats don't sound good at all to me. 1,7% of the young males? I expected it to be WAY higher. Half a million viewers, what? That's not much. 8000 people attending an OSL finals is probably a new low?


Think about it this way. Korea's overall population is about 50 million. 0.5 / 50 = about 1% of the entire population watched the OSL finals.

The NBA finals (i think in '06) had a viewership of 13 million. The USA has 300 million people. 13/300 = about 4% of the entire population watched the NBA finals.

Now, compare percentages: 1% vs 4%.

So, a decade-old computer game battle between two mega nerds attracts about 1/4 of what the NBA finals attracts.

I'D SAY THAT'S PRETTY DAMN FREAKING GOOD
The probability of Kim Carrier getting all those predictions wrong is similar to the probability Flash loses a TvT. Kim Carrier MUST BE a genius. His only big mistake... STORK.
konadora *
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
Singapore66363 Posts
January 29 2010 12:24 GMT
#38
Well there are a few million people out there without cable...
POGGERS
Alethios
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
New Zealand2765 Posts
January 29 2010 12:28 GMT
#39
I wonder if TL livestreams etc are factored in. I dont think they would be.

Then of course there is the fact that a fair number of people probably get together for the finals. So 500,000 people might well just be 500,000 screens tuned in, while the true number of viewers would be much higher.
When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.
konadora *
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
Singapore66363 Posts
January 29 2010 12:35 GMT
#40
Lol livestreams aren't counted of course.
POGGERS
Alethios
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
New Zealand2765 Posts
January 29 2010 12:41 GMT
#41
Lol i didnt seriously consider that they would be. Just thinking about how conservative an estimate half a million is.
When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.
Stratos_speAr
Profile Joined May 2009
United States6959 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-29 15:17:11
January 29 2010 15:13 GMT
#42
On January 29 2010 14:42 We Are Here wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 29 2010 14:25 Sharp-eYe wrote:
On January 29 2010 14:06 Megalisk wrote:
On January 29 2010 13:40 iamho wrote:
500k viewers total? that seems really bad


500k viewers watching a 10 year old computer game being played is in no way "bad".

im not sure but thats as close as the numbers are here for hockey right or baskeyball?
yeah id like to know how well it compares with other sports; because, quite frankly, i have no idea if thats a good number xD

okay i just did a quick wiki search for the AFL finals television viewers. each year got roughly 3ish million, so 500k dont seem like a lot =[


Athletic sports (at least in the U.S.) get a significantly larger audience.

Think about it this way. Korea's overall population is about 50 million. 0.5 / 50 = about 1% of the entire population watched the OSL finals.

The NBA finals (i think in '06) had a viewership of 13 million. The USA has 300 million people. 13/300 = about 4% of the entire population watched the NBA finals.

Now, compare percentages: 1% vs 4%.

So, a decade-old computer game battle between two mega nerds attracts about 1/4 of what the NBA finals attracts.

I'D SAY THAT'S PRETTY DAMN FREAKING GOOD


To be fair, you should probably compare it to the popular sport in the U.S. (which is football).

"...the NBC television network broadcast attracted an average U.S. audience of 98.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched Super Bowl in history."

That's a lot of people. Not downplaying the 500k that OGN got, just gotta make a fair comparison.

That's for Super Bowl 43 (2009's).
A sound mind in a sound body, is a short, but full description of a happy state in this World: he that has these two, has little more to wish for; and he that wants either of them, will be little the better for anything else.
FaCE_1
Profile Blog Joined December 2006
Canada6184 Posts
January 29 2010 15:26 GMT
#43
stop comparing SPort in America vs e-Sport....

e-Sport will never be able to reach the popularity of Home town Sport club.

If you start talking about % in highest even (OSL Final is the highest even soo.) Try to find the % of ppl in Quebec that would watch the Hockey game if the Canadien was in the seven game of Stanley cup. I can tell you it would be over 30% of the population
n_n
Iplaythings
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
Denmark9110 Posts
January 29 2010 15:29 GMT
#44
Well people should really compare it to how many young people there are. (Like, measuring the % of the group that it's aimed for). Then you can compare.
In the woods, there lurks..
Velr
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
Switzerland10888 Posts
January 29 2010 15:30 GMT
#45
I just made some comparisons to premier swiss football league..

Population 7-8 Million.
Avg people watching live at the stadiums:
Year 2009: ~9000
Year 2008 ~10'000

Average peoplle watching on TV (only the german channel, so your looking at a population of 4.5 Millions): 320'000.

These numbers get way higher for important games.


No, these OSL-Numbers are not impressive.
Ikonn
Profile Joined October 2009
Netherlands1958 Posts
January 29 2010 15:54 GMT
#46
On January 30 2010 00:30 Velr wrote:
I just made some comparisons to premier swiss football league..

Population 7-8 Million.
Avg people watching live at the stadiums:
Year 2009: ~9000
Year 2008 ~10'000

Average peoplle watching on TV (only the german channel, so your looking at a population of 4.5 Millions): 320'000.

These numbers get way higher for important games.


No, these OSL-Numbers are not impressive.


Football is a very old sport, accepted by the entire population of most countries in the world. Most people grew up with it.

Starcraft is ten years old and primarily aimed at youth.

Not comparable in that way.
haster27
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
Taiwan809 Posts
January 29 2010 16:04 GMT
#47
On January 29 2010 14:48 Sharp-eYe wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 29 2010 14:36 Shikyo wrote:
"- On Korean forums, approximately 3800 posts were made during the games"

I find it funny that just Teamliquid.net's live report thread of the finals had more posts than all the Korean forums had combined, in every thread.

because they were all talking about it real life. we dont have the luxury


Moreover, TL is international community. We should assume all Starcraft fans around the globe posted bar Korea - which does decrease the astounding number of TL's posts.
Holgerius
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Sweden16951 Posts
January 29 2010 16:05 GMT
#48
How the fuck can you compare football, the worlds biggest and most popular sport in the world, to SC?
I believe in the almighty Grötslev! -- I am never serious and you should never believe a thing I say. Including the previous sentence.
Velr
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
Switzerland10888 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-29 16:20:11
January 29 2010 16:13 GMT
#49
I compared the average football game in an 7.5 Million inhabitant country (4.5 Million when it comes to TV), which isn't even one of the absolute football crazy countries, to, the first or second most important, E-Sport final in an 80 Million country were this game is, as we are told, the 2/3d biggest Sport.

I wouldn't call this very "unfair".


0.01% of the total koreans watch the second most important final in one of their most favorite sports life... On swiss numbers this would be 750 guys that go watch a final.

All i want to say: It's just not impressive at all.
searcher
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
277 Posts
January 29 2010 16:35 GMT
#50
On January 30 2010 01:13 Velr wrote:

0.01% of the total koreans watch the second most important final in one of their most favorite sports life... On swiss numbers this would be 750 guys that go watch a final.

Mathematics fail. 500k/50 million = 1%, so 75,000 guys.
Velr
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
Switzerland10888 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-29 16:38:31
January 29 2010 16:37 GMT
#51
That was for people watching live.


I think it's great that there are actually *many* people that watch starcraft/e-sports... But i also think it's success gets overexagerated. Thats my whole point.
searcher
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
277 Posts
January 29 2010 16:55 GMT
#52
Comparing live events is not so straightforward. You have the fact that the venues cannot hold as many people as football stadiums (evidently from the OP the event was overattended and no doubt more would have come had they known the venue was larger). Also, the Swiss Super League has 10 teams, which means far fewer games per season than Starcraft, which means average attendances will be higher (you see this with the English Premier League vs the German Bundesliga, the latter has higher average attendance even the though the former is more popular because there are fewer games).
Nevertheless your overall point stands I think. There are many comparisons which make Starcraft's popularity seem nothing to get excited about. But given that it has only been 10 years since you could watch e-Sports on TV, and given that (as someone above has shown) it already has a quarter of the NBA's popularity, I'm not that disappointed.
motoroia
Profile Joined August 2009
Canada70 Posts
January 29 2010 17:11 GMT
#53
Ok, here's my general comparison between sports in Korea

Soccer - National soccer team matches generally produce high tv ratings, but K-league has lost its popularity over the past 3~4 years. I wouldn't say SC is as famous as K-league, but it's catching up.

Baseball - National baseball team&KBL has become very very popular over the past 3~4 years.

Basketball - no one gives a fuck.

Volleyball - the player with the highest salary gets paid half of what Bisu gets paid. I would say if OSL final and Volleyball final were taking place at the same time, 8 out of 10 would watch OSL

Other sports ( like the ones in Olympic such as swimming, wrestling, table tennis etc..) - they only get attentions during Olympics. As soon as Olympics is over, ppl don't give a shit anymore

motoroia
Profile Joined August 2009
Canada70 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-29 17:22:11
January 29 2010 17:14 GMT
#54
So my summary: Baseball (KBL)> Soccer(K-league) > SC > Basketball(KBL??) > others

exceptions are when national competitions like World Cup, WBC, Olympics etc. take place
SuperJongMan
Profile Blog Joined March 2003
Jamaica11586 Posts
January 29 2010 17:23 GMT
#55
For a relative comparison, I'd liek to know how many watched the world baseball thing Korea was in or just a big baseball event in korea. Unless Korea flipped around and no one likes baseball anymore... .... - -;; unposs
POWER OVERWHELMING ! ! ! KRUU~ KRUU~
meeple
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
Canada10211 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-29 17:28:26
January 29 2010 17:26 GMT
#56
I'd love to hear about some of the stats for TL.net from one of the server guys. It kept crashing the site and bugging out, what was overloaded?
CynanMachae
Profile Blog Joined September 2006
Canada1459 Posts
January 29 2010 17:49 GMT
#57
Lol nice stats, that's impressive
Jang Yoon Chul hwaiting!
Zoler
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
Sweden6339 Posts
January 29 2010 17:51 GMT
#58
On January 29 2010 14:17 Sharp-eYe wrote:
and they said esports was dying there.


It is
Lim Yo Hwan forever!
DreaM)XeRO
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
Korea (South)4667 Posts
January 29 2010 18:50 GMT
#59
wow. and with this and the new OSL sponsor the OSL leaps ahead of the MSL in prestige
cw)minsean(ru
Tom Phoenix
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
1114 Posts
January 29 2010 21:21 GMT
#60
These numbers are by no means impressive. Infact, they are a lot more grim then I anticipated.

Keep in mind that in their May 2008 presentation of the industry, KeSPA itself placed the number of e-Sports enthusiasts in Korea at around 18 million. Now keep in mind the following:

- In spite of a large number of e-Sports titles, StarCraft`s professional scene is still by far the most popular.
- The OSL Finals is one of the most important events in StarCraft progaming. It can preety much be described as an equivalent to Wimbledon in tennis and Champion`s League in football/soccer.

Considering those two facts and the figure above, the statistics presented here are abysmal at best and catastrophic at worst. It means that since 2008, the e-Sports industry in Korea has taken a significant nosedive.

I already knew before that not everything was great in Korea as far as e-Sports was concerned. But this makes me significantly more worried. =/
You and your "5 years of competitive RTS experience" can take a hike. - FrozenArbiter
PH
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
United States6173 Posts
January 29 2010 21:38 GMT
#61
These are quite impressive. People are being cynical for no reason...

This is a COMPUTER GAME...that's more than TEN YEARS OLD now. Where do you see this kind of thing ANYWHERE else in the world? You simply don't. Put things into proper perspective. Comparing the OSL finals to the superbowl or global football leagues is just stupid. You're not being fair, AND you're setting yourself up for severe disappointment. -_-

I was going to say something else, but I got too mad looking at all the dumb posts and forgot...
Hello
Zoler
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
Sweden6339 Posts
January 29 2010 22:01 GMT
#62
On January 30 2010 06:38 PH wrote:
These are quite impressive. People are being cynical for no reason...

This is a COMPUTER GAME...that's more than TEN YEARS OLD now. Where do you see this kind of thing ANYWHERE else in the world? You simply don't. Put things into proper perspective. Comparing the OSL finals to the superbowl or global football leagues is just stupid. You're not being fair, AND you're setting yourself up for severe disappointment. -_-

I was going to say something else, but I got too mad looking at all the dumb posts and forgot...


No. It's a sport. Just look at how many people watched this just 3-4 years ago and compare to now. The numbers isn't impressive AT ALL.
Lim Yo Hwan forever!
Stratos_speAr
Profile Joined May 2009
United States6959 Posts
January 30 2010 00:10 GMT
#63
On January 30 2010 06:21 Tom Phoenix wrote:
These numbers are by no means impressive. Infact, they are a lot more grim then I anticipated.

Keep in mind that in their May 2008 presentation of the industry, KeSPA itself placed the number of e-Sports enthusiasts in Korea at around 18 million. Now keep in mind the following:

- In spite of a large number of e-Sports titles, StarCraft`s professional scene is still by far the most popular.
- The OSL Finals is one of the most important events in StarCraft progaming. It can preety much be described as an equivalent to Wimbledon in tennis and Champion`s League in football/soccer.

Considering those two facts and the figure above, the statistics presented here are abysmal at best and catastrophic at worst. It means that since 2008, the e-Sports industry in Korea has taken a significant nosedive.

I already knew before that not everything was great in Korea as far as e-Sports was concerned. But this makes me significantly more worried. =/


To be fair, isn't the proleague the most popular SC league?
A sound mind in a sound body, is a short, but full description of a happy state in this World: he that has these two, has little more to wish for; and he that wants either of them, will be little the better for anything else.
dasanivan
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
United States532 Posts
January 30 2010 00:15 GMT
#64
i wouldnt make any conclusions about whether this is good or bad without knowing the statistics for previous OSL finals.
Gumbo
Profile Joined February 2009
Canada807 Posts
January 30 2010 00:41 GMT
#65
On January 30 2010 00:26 FaCE_1 wrote:
stop comparing SPort in America vs e-Sport....

e-Sport will never be able to reach the popularity of Home town Sport club.

If you start talking about % in highest even (OSL Final is the highest even soo.) Try to find the % of ppl in Quebec that would watch the Hockey game if the Canadien was in the seven game of Stanley cup. I can tell you it would be over 30% of the population


If the habs would go into a 7 games Stanley final, 90% would watch it EASY. They were in the first round and fucking everyone was going nuts.
Si vis pacem, para bellum.
SuperJongMan
Profile Blog Joined March 2003
Jamaica11586 Posts
January 30 2010 01:14 GMT
#66
SOMEONE FIND ME THE BASEBALL NUMBERS!
Please.
POWER OVERWHELMING ! ! ! KRUU~ KRUU~
Nal_rAwr
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
United States2611 Posts
January 30 2010 01:24 GMT
#67
NATE MSL finals epic fail this year

OSL: good as EVER
Nony is Bonjwa
T.O.P. *
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Hong Kong4685 Posts
January 30 2010 01:33 GMT
#68
I don't know if the percentages use the same calculation methodology, but popular Korean Dramas on the main television stations gets 30% ratings.
Oracle comes in, Scvs go down, never a miscommunication.
jello24
Profile Joined July 2009
Canada327 Posts
January 30 2010 01:47 GMT
#69
compared to the 37.8 million people that watched Obama's inauguration, those numbers are EXTREMELY disappointing... 98% of koreans can't be bothered to watch their greatest military mind in action? i mean, damn, Mr. Ultimate Weapon finally makes it to a final after so many months and this is the thanks he gets?

but seriously why are people comparing this to the Big 4+1 sports events? the best sport you should compare this with is Sumo Wrestling or Slamball or Arena Football. the target audience, even with Korea, is so limited to a certain demographic that you shouldnt expect much beyond those numbers.
just lurking around...
Letmelose
Profile Blog Joined September 2006
Korea (South)3227 Posts
January 30 2010 02:18 GMT
#70
I'll try clearing a few things up.

Q: Doesn't E-Sports have a huge following in Korea?
A: The number of people following it is by no means small. However, you are greatly mistaken if you think your average Korean family sits down after dinner to watch the Proleague match between KT Rolster and WeMade Fox. Pro-gaming has been made mainstream in the respect that everyone in Korea knows what it is, but it's not as socially accepted as you might expect.

Q: I thought it was one of the biggest sources of entertainment in Korea?
A: It is. For kids and younger men who grew up with Starcraft. I'd say for this particular demographics, E-Sports is just as influential as football, baseball and dare I say it, some of the more recognizable programs on television. However, we have next to no purchasing power. The money in this business is smaller than you imagine. Television viewership is absolutely dominated by housewives who enjoy watching the same freaking pattern of soap operas, and believe that their children should be protected from the lures of pro-gaming. Watching games on televison when the rest of the family wants to watch something else is something rather difficult when you're at the rock bottom of the hierachy. As a result, gaming channels aren't included in normal packages when you subscribe to cable television.

Q: So what are you saying? Pro-gaming isn't big in Korea?
A: It's huge considering how outside the mainstream it is. Starcraft communities aren't what it used to be, but are still one of the most active communities around. Starcraft is still one of the most played games out there, although the site of seeing everyone playing Starcraft when you enter an internet cafe is something you'll probably never see again. It's never going to be mainstream, and the news of Flash of winning the OGN Starleague is never going to be on the KBS 9 o'clock news. However, what you will have is one of the highest ratings for a cable television show, the search engines being flooded with Flash related articles, and numerous people in middle/high schools and colleges talking about it the next day (probably in between discussions about celebrities, the comedy show they watched that week and the results of baseball post-season).
TL+ Member
PH
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
United States6173 Posts
January 30 2010 17:13 GMT
#71
On January 30 2010 07:01 Zoler wrote:
Show nested quote +
On January 30 2010 06:38 PH wrote:
These are quite impressive. People are being cynical for no reason...

This is a COMPUTER GAME...that's more than TEN YEARS OLD now. Where do you see this kind of thing ANYWHERE else in the world? You simply don't. Put things into proper perspective. Comparing the OSL finals to the superbowl or global football leagues is just stupid. You're not being fair, AND you're setting yourself up for severe disappointment. -_-

I was going to say something else, but I got too mad looking at all the dumb posts and forgot...


No. It's a sport. Just look at how many people watched this just 3-4 years ago and compare to now. The numbers isn't impressive AT ALL.

No, lol, it's an Esport.
Hello
Baddieko
Profile Joined October 2008
Singapore855 Posts
January 30 2010 17:23 GMT
#72
To be fair the numbers had dropped much from the past boxer days where they even need to host the event outdoors. Nowadays i think only people before 30yo watch it, so i don't think e-sports generate amazing revenue for the companies especially even foreigners like us get to watch free.

500k viewers out of like many millions isn't impressive at all. E-sports is still very small compared to Korean soccer and basketball. Its cannot be considered Korea national sport yet, even though we keep calling "Korea sc is national sport" because professional gaming industry is nowhere to be found in other areas.
Foucault
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
Sweden2826 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-01-30 17:34:50
January 30 2010 17:29 GMT
#73
On January 30 2010 06:38 PH wrote:
These are quite impressive. People are being cynical for no reason...

This is a COMPUTER GAME...that's more than TEN YEARS OLD now. Where do you see this kind of thing ANYWHERE else in the world? You simply don't. Put things into proper perspective. Comparing the OSL finals to the superbowl or global football leagues is just stupid. You're not being fair, AND you're setting yourself up for severe disappointment. -_-

I was going to say something else, but I got too mad looking at all the dumb posts and forgot...


In all honesty, these kinds of comments mostly come from people who are relatively new to the professional SC scene and haven't witnessed the enormous popularity SC had in Korea some years back.

I'm pretty sure it was either Nada vs July (IOPS 2004) or Nada vs Anytime SO1 (2006) that had the highest attenders ever for an OSL finals? We're talking 50 000 + people watching live

Correct me someone if I'm wrong. I actually have Nada vs July OSL finals on a VCR cassette, thanks to my korean penpal who sent it some days after it was played.
I know that deep inside of you there's a humongous set of testicles just waiting to pop out. Let 'em pop bro. //////////////////// AKA JensOfSweden // Lee Yoon Yeol forever.
Jayson X
Profile Blog Joined November 2006
Switzerland2431 Posts
January 30 2010 17:30 GMT
#74
Well we should just enjoy it for what it is and be glad that OSL found a great sponsor so early.
torm3ntin
Profile Joined October 2009
Brazil2534 Posts
January 30 2010 18:30 GMT
#75
now i trully know that OSL > MSL
Grubby and Ret fan, but a TERRAN player :D
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