Survey: 28% of fans in the West think eSports belong in the Olympics

Over half of eSports fans think playing games professionally is a real sport, but only 28 percent believe eSports belong in the Olympics, according to a new eSports "fan report" published by the Nielsen market research firm.

The report is potentially of interest to anyone keeping tabs on the business of eSports, as it collects data gleaned from a survey of ~4,000 self-identified eSports fans in the U.S., the U.K., France, and Germany.

Much of the report's findings are not surprising: the people surveyed are self-described eSports fans between the ages of 13 and 40, and men accounted for 71 percent of that cohort. They actively folllow 2-3 genres of games and 3-6 specific games, with German eSports fans following the fewest different games and U.S. fans following the most: 5.7 games across 2.6 genres, on average.  

But there are some fun facts to be found, including Nielsen's report that the number of eSports broadcasts happening on U.S. television has gone up year-over-year -- and that the top eSports broadcaster on TV is Disney XD, followed by TBS and ESPN2.

You can find more fun facts in Nielsen's full report, which touches on everything from what actual sports eSports fans watch to what games they follow and play.