Only one in ten sport industry leaders questioned in a recent survey believes esports should become part of the Olympics as a matter of urgency ©Getty Images

Only one in ten sport industry leaders questioned in a recent survey believes esports should become part of the Olympics as a matter of urgency.

The research, by auditing and consulting firm PwC, found that just 10.4 per cent of respondents expressed the view that esports should be part of the Olympics "as soon as possible".

A total of 57 per cent answered "No", either because esports "should develop independently" or because it does not "qualify as sport".

A further 26.7 per cent responded "Not yet", as esports first needs a "recognised governing body", while 5.9 per cent either did not know or did not answer.

The outcome may provide a reality check for those hoping for a swift entry for the fast-growing activity into the Olympic fold, in spite of indications of official curiosity.

The Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) hosted an esports forum at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne in July.

Esports featured as a demonstration event at the recent Asian Games in Indonesia.

The PwC report also offers an assessment of the scale of the esports sector and its growth prospects.

It estimates that the "esports economy" will this year exceed $800 million (£610 million/€680 million), a near 30 per cent year-on-year jump.

Esports is growing in popularity with talk of one day making the Olympic programme ©Getty Images
Esports is growing in popularity with talk of one day making the Olympic programme ©Getty Images

This is comprised of sponsorship - $277 million (£210.5 million/€236 million), media rights - $181 million (£138 million/€154 million), streaming of advertising - $163 million (£124 million/€139 million), consumer - $129 million (£98 million/€110 million) and ticket sales - $55 million (£42 million/€47 million).

Media rights are currently said to be growing by close to 50 per cent year-on-year.

Looking ahead, PwC expects global esports revenues to reach $1.58 billion (£1.2 billion/€1.35 billion) by 2022.

This represents a compound annual growth rate of 18.4 per cent.

By way of comparison, the IOC generated $4.16 billion (£3.16 billion/€3.54 billion) in broadcast revenues over the 2013-2016 Olympic cycle and just over $1 billion (£760 million/€852 million) from its global sponsorship programme.

Income growth for traditional sports properties has shown a tendency to slow in recent years from sometimes explosive levels earlier in the millennium, however, putting pressure on decision-makers to identify potential new revenue streams.

The report may be accessed here and for the full blog on the issue click here.