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Esports · Broadcast intelligence

eMedia Monitor tracked esports across 201 TV and radio channels in 28 countries while the Esports World Cup played out in Riyadh. The result: a news leaderboard led by the host nation, and an industry story that reaches well beyond the matches.

Data
eMedia Monitor
Analysis
HEKA Insights
Period
6–17 August 2025
Explore the findings Download the report
Esports global broadcast coverage report cover
  • 708Broadcast items
  • 201Channels tracked
  • 28Countries
  • 5Languages

Source: eMedia Monitor · report page 2 ↗

01Leaderboard

Saudi Arabia jumps to the top.

As host of the Esports World Cup, Saudi Arabia produced 37% of all esports broadcast clips: more than the USA and the UK together.

Share of all esports clips, by country · 6–17 August 2025
  1. 01 Saudi Arabia 37%
  2. 02 USA 17%
  3. 03 UK 16%
  4. 04 Colombia 7%
  5. 05 Mexico 4%
  6. 06 Germany 3%
  7. 07 Spain 2%
  8. 08 South Africa 2%
  9. 09 Nigeria 2%
  10. 10 Scotland 2%
  11. 11 China 1%
  12. 12 Canada 1%

Source: eMedia Monitor, report page 3 ↗

02Formats

Radio edges out television.

For a visual sport, the split is close to even: slightly more of the esports clips came from radio than from TV.

  • 53%Radio
  • 47%Television

Source: eMedia Monitor, report page 2 ↗

03Tournaments

One event dominates the tournament story.

Of the clips about tournaments and events, three in four were about the Esports World Cup.

  • 76%Esports World Cup
  • 24%Other tournaments

Source: eMedia Monitor, report page 2 ↗

04Games

The games that made the news.

Among individual titles, Rocket League led the mentions, ahead of two mobile shooters.

  • 01 6%

    Rocket League

    Share of the tournament and event clips.

  • 02 4%

    PUBG Mobile

    Share of the tournament and event clips.

  • 03 4%

    Call of Duty: Mobile

    Share of the tournament and event clips.

Source: eMedia Monitor, report page 2 ↗

05Broadcasters

Saudi outlets carry the story.

Saudi stations lead the list of sources: UFM KSA and Jeddah Radio ahead of Al-Ekhbaria, with CNN alongside Saudia Radio and SSC News.

Share of all esports clips, by outlet · top six
  1. 01 UFM KSA 11%
  2. 02 Jeddah Radio 6%
  3. 03 Al-Ekhbaria 4%
  4. 04 CNN 3%
  5. 05 Saudia Radio 3%
  6. 06 SSC News 3%

Source: eMedia Monitor, report page 4 ↗

06Spotlight

The Esports World Cup in numbers.

Across July and August, the first Esports World Cup in Riyadh drew broadcast interest far beyond the region.

  • 01 2,179

    TV mentions of the event

    From July to August, across more than 100 channels tracked for the World Cup alone.

  • 02 $70M+

    Prize pool

    More than 2,000 players competed in 25 tournaments.

  • 03 11%

    Al-Ekhbaria

    The leading TV outlet for the event, ahead of CNN (9%) and BBC News (5%).

Source: eMedia Monitor, report page 5 ↗

07Moments

Three moments that made the news.

The opening, a competitive first and a spectacle in the sky: each gave broadcasters a different reason to cover esports.

  1. 8 July

    The World Cup opens in Riyadh

    25 tournaments and a prize pool of more than $70 million: the biggest esports event yet.

  2. 13 July

    Team Heretics make history

    Heretics beat Fnatic to become the first Valorant champions in the event’s history.

  3. 10 August

    A drone show over Riyadh

    Images of a spectacular drone show above the city were picked up by TV news around the world: the biggest spike of the summer.

eMedia Monitor chart: daily TV mentions of the Esports World Cup, 1 July to 28 August 2025, with peaks on 8 July, 13 July and 10 August.

Source: eMedia Monitor, report page 6 ↗

08Beyond the matches

The industry is becoming the story.

Outside the World Cup spotlight, esports entered the news through money, schools and institutions as well as results.

  • 01 11%

    Prize money

    Growing prize pools frame esports as a maturing industry with major financial backing.

  • 02 10%

    Esports in schools

    Scholarships, labs and school tournaments link esports to youth culture and future skills.

  • 03 5%

    Corporate and governance

    Partnerships, conferences and federations place esports in the wider business and governance landscape.

Source: eMedia Monitor, report page 7 ↗

Esports coverage now reaches beyond the competition: the industry itself is becoming news.

HEKA Insights

From insight to a better brief

A more useful esports brief.

  1. 01

    Separate event share from industry share.

    Define the comparison base before reporting a percentage. Tournament coverage and all esports coverage are different bases.

  2. 02

    Follow the outlets as well as the markets.

    Combine country and broadcaster views to see how a host-market story travels into international news.

  3. 03

    Measure the surrounding themes.

    Prize money, education and governance show what esports means to the news beyond the scoreboard.

The publication

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