Enhanced Audience Experience
Large screens of high definition not only create extraordinary visual effects but also present with precision every fierce moment of the match. For example, the newest LED screens, such as those at P1.2 pixel density, are capable of offering a resolution of 1920×1080 within just 1.2mm spacing. This would mean that no matter where the viewer sits in the venue, every player’s expression, movement, and even the tiniest execution of skills are clear to see.
In general, the brightness values of the LEDs in event screens range from 2000 to 3000 nits to ensure that the footage of the match is clearly seen even when the environment is pretty bright. For example, in the globally well-known “League of Legends World Championship,” the screens in the venue were fitted with 2500-nits LED, together with HDR technology, to ensure that the visuals of the match would always show the best possible effect under any light condition.
In many top esports events, viewers can not only view player data in real-time but also directly participate in interactive elements. For example, the “Dota 2 International” set up a real-time voting system at the venue, allowing viewers to vote on the next stage rules or strategies for the players. Statistics have shown that for the 2019 event, around 30% of the on-site viewers had engaged in such interactions through mobile devices, making this event so much more fun and engaging.
The esports venue is usually set up with a high-fidelity audio system from 1200W to 2000W, combined with sound localization technology, ensuring that every viewer can clearly hear the sound of each gunshot and skill sound effect during the match. For example, the sound in the arena during the “Overworld League” event in Los Angeles in 2018 was tuned so that every corner of it heard the voice of players commanding their teammates and sounds within the game. Such clarity of sound, with high-resolution visuals, can completely immerse one’s experience in a stadium environment.
Drawing Larger Crowds
Accordingly, the “Global Esports Market Report 2022” shows that this year, the total global esports audience has finally broken through the 450 million mark, projects 650 million by 2026, and keeps growing annually at a very fast tempo of 10.3%. Introducing high-resolution, large-screen LED technology in esports venues has been deemed a driver of viewership. The 2019 “League of Legends World Championship” drew in viewership of 3 million people, for instance. The LED screen technology in the event made it one of the showstoppers with never-before-seen visual effects for the viewers.
A number of esports venues have begun to pay attention to the different viewer needs and install flexible screen systems to improve the viewing experience. In 2020, the “Esports Heaven” in Shanghai recorded a 35% growth in customers; one of the key investment factors is several high-brightness and large-size LED displays they invested in to raise the level of event visualization. All LED screens at this site are 20m × 10m in dimension, with 4000 nits in brightness each, allowing every viewer clearly to see every detail that was going on in each match even for those seated upstairs.
Not only the upgrade of screen technologies but also esports stadiums started to incorporate various current digital marketing methods to get people’s attention with big screens. For example, for an event called “CS:GO Major,” combining digital advertising with interactive display screens enabled them to flash up advertisements in real-time within a venue. Data shows that due to this, their advertisement revenues went up by about 50%, securing them more sponsorships and partnerships. By showing brand information, player data, and the progress of the event in real-time on the large screens, the viewers also felt the brand marketing visually while watching the match, which extended their time on site and raised their engagement.
According to the “Esports Viewer Behavior Research” survey, about 65% of esports viewers reported that screen displays and technological effects during the match affected their decision-making. These include huge screens in the venue, raising their interest in the match; at the same time, they were more willing to buy tickets or take part in on-site activities. For example, in 2018, “Dota 2 International” increased on-site viewer participation by close to 40% by adding several interactive screen segments in the venue.
Visibility at Scale
The esports stadium in Tokyo, 2021, hosted matches on its ultralarge LED circular screen, measuring a diameter of 30 meters with a brightness of 5000 nits, ensuring that audiences could clearly see the live match footage in situations of really strong light. This high brightness and large size mean that the seats farther away could also enjoy the contest without noticeable problems. On-site survey data indicated that this screen usage increased viewer satisfaction by up to 20%, especially for those seated at a distance.
In addition, to enhance the effect of watching the event, there is an increasing trend for venues to use 24K resolution LED screens, with each screen as large as 16m × 9m, to cover the entire seating area. According to the data of the 2019 “League of Legends World Championship”, every LED screen in the venue could cover more than 5000 viewers, and even the audience farthest from the screen could clearly see the players’ actions and the progress of the event.
This trend of popularity in multi-screen display technologies allows venues to show the visibility of various contents across different areas. For example, the “Overwatch League” held in Los Angeles in 2018 configured more than 100 LED screens within the venue so that every corner was visible, from audience seating to the competition stage. This multi-screen display ensures that viewers in every position could clearly catch the highlight of the match. The visual coverage rate for this system is 98%, and almost no blind spot can be seen, which is one of the main factors for the huge audience size in this event.
In large-scale esports events, surround-screen systems have already been used in setting up events to enhance visual immersion. For instance, the 2022 “League of Legends World Championship” introduced for the first time a surrounding 360-degree LED screen at the main venue. Besides displaying match content, the screen displayed player data, real-time scores, and interactive contents in synchrony. Research shows this design raises the “panoramic feeling” of the stadium by about 35%, letting viewers track events during a match in the context of dynamic screen changes.
Dynamic Content Display
In the last few years, most esports have added real-time data, interactive display functions, and various forms of event content display to make the watching of the event more vivid and interactive. For example, the 2020 “League of Legends World Championship” attracted more than 30 million viewers worldwide, and most of them watched the real-time voting and players’ data through the multi-screen interactive system in the venue.
According to the “Esports Viewer Behavior Report” in 2021, about 68% of viewers said that real-time updated event data and interactive elements made them stay at the venue for 30% longer than they had planned. For example, during the “Dota 2 International” event, the organizers showed in real-time the player equipment, kill data, and battle power changes on LED screens. It helps not only to let the audience get a better understanding of the match, but also they could understand the progress or important moment of the match more accurately.
During the “PUBG Global Invitational” in 2019, there were several boards displaying not only the real-time competition scenes but also playing comments and reactions by players from around the world in real-time. By integrating social media information, the event had a lot of interactivity, and the audience was not passive “observers” but very much active participants in the event. According to post-event questionnaires, about 40% of viewers reported these interactive parts of the event increased their engagement with it and made them more likely to recommend it to others.
The “Overwatch League” in 2018 was augmented with a number of digital boards that projected the live player statistics, technical analysis, and strategies during gameplay. In less than a minute after each game concluded, these boards then transitioned into deeper analysis and replay footage for the audience’s betterment of understanding the process of the match. As per the report from the organizers themselves, this multidimensional content display increased the average viewing time of viewers by 12 minutes for enhanced satisfaction and brand exposure.
This would surely enhance the on-site experience and engagement of viewers at any venue through dynamic content display, enabling them not only to view exciting footage but also to interact with other spectators or players for a more personalized and customized event experience. For example, at the 2021 “League of Legends World Championship,” immediately after real-time match data and player action visualizations flashed onto giant screens, viewer interactions increased 26%, amplifying not only viewer attention but also boosting brand visibility for event organizers by a huge margin.
Real-Time Updates and Replays
Real-time updates and replay functions are essential for current esports events to enhance the audience experience in fast-paced, information-heavy matches. During the 2022 “League of Legends World Championship,” the event used a technological system able to update in real time so that viewers could quickly see real-time data of players’ kills, deaths, assists, and gold earned. This has been updated as frequently as 30 times per second so that the viewer gets updates of any match in the fastest way possible.
This function is very important, especially when some moments are changed in a very fast way during a match. For example, in the final moments of the 2021 “Dota 2 International”, every crucial second was replayed, amping up not only the audience’s comprehension of the strategy behind the game but also allowing them to feel tense along with the players. According to the statistics of the events, about 52% of the viewers said that through the function of real-time replay, they can understand the match better and feel closer to it; in the key moments, the frequency of using replays reached 5 times per minute.
Not only replay, but another very important function of real-time update is the live presentation of event data. For example, during the “PUBG Global Invitational” in 2019, on-the-spot ranking of players, kills, and combat power were projected on big screens within the event. The audience wasn’t just able to watch a match but could get detailed data analysis about every player right in real time. At this very event, about 65% of viewers reported that the timeliness and accuracy of the real-time data made watching more fun.
