Can eSports Substitute Traditional Sports during Pandemic and Beyond?

CAN ESPORTS SUBSTITUTE TRADITIONAL SPORTS DURING PANDEMIC AND BEYOND?
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Table of Contents 1.    Introduction. 3 1.1      Importance of the Topic. 3 1.2      The Context for the Research/ Problem Statement 3 1.3      Research Questions. 4 1.4      Aims and Objectives. 4 1.5      Route Map. 5 2.    Literature Review.. 5 2.1      Key Concepts. 5 2.2      Background Theories and Research. 5 2.2.1       Convergence Theories. 5 2.2.2       Sportification Theory. 6 2.2.3       Gamification. 7 2.3      Rise in eSports. 8 2.4      Research Gap. 10 3.    Method. 10 3.1      Research Design. 10 3.2      Participants and Procedures. 11 3.3      Instruments. 11 3.4      Data Analysis. 12 3.5      Ethical Considerations. 12 3.6      Expected Timescale. 13 4.    Expected contribution. 13 4.1      Expected Outcomes/ Literature. 13 4.2      Need for Future Research. 13 4.3      Value of the Study for Sport Management Practitioners. 14 References. 15 Appendix: Interview Questions. 18 Can eSports Substitute Traditional Sports during Pandemic and Beyond?
Introduction
Importance of the Topic
COVID-19 has impacted all the global communities and industries, including the sporting world. The pandemic has disrupted the sporting calendar worldwide, where several sporting events were canceled or postponed. For example, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics delay resulted in Japan’s USD 6 billion financial loss (Mastromartino et al. 2020). It assumes that the country would have seen a tourism boom and increased investment abroad if the games had gone ahead. However, the country is now preparing for the possibility of the Olympics being canceled altogether, with the associated costs of such a move (Cranmer et al. 2020).
The Context for the Research/ Problem Statement
Esports has seen a significant rise in popularity in recent years. It can be attributed to several factors, but the pandemic has likely impacted the industry’s growth. The pandemic has disrupted traditional forms of support, such as family and friends, which has led to people seeking out new forms of support (Cumming 2021). Esports provides this, as fans can connect with other fans from all over the world and share their love for the games. Esports is a very lucrative industry, with a global audience of over 350 million people and over $1.5 billion. It also allows businesses to create new revenue streams, such as advertising and sponsorship (Stavros et al. 2021). Overall, the growth of traditional sports is likely to be affected by the pandemic somehow, but it is still going strong overall.