We've talked a lot here about e-sports, from their potential to overtake and even replace regular sports to their increasing viewership numbers even to the scandal that can crop up in the field. But a new report from Newzoo and SuperData Research is giving us a better idea of just how big the viewership field really is, and even some word about the demographics involved in those numbers.

We kick it off with a big fact: in the last four years, online competitive gaming viewership has increased fully eightfold, and just between 2012 and 2013, viewership doubled, reaching a high water mark of over 70 million. Roughly half of that number, not surprisingly, comes from the United States, with the rest coming from a variety of regions the world over. Indeed, nearly half of the total audience—not strictly the half from the United States alone—is between 21 and 35 years old. E-sports fans are more likely to be married and have a full-time job, and e-sports viewers tend to be a bit fanatical about the idea, tuning in an average of 19 times a month for sessions lasting over two hours.

A variety of companies are looking to get in on the action, with brands like Red Bull and Coca-Cola out to get in on that sweet 18 – 34 year old demographic via competitive gaming, and major gaming companies like Valve and Ubisoft have been spotted looking to get in on this action.

There's something to be said for this approach overall; I personally encountered one guy who'd fit easily in this demographic profile who said that, since having kids, his time playing video games has pretty much been done. Should he find himself curious about a video game, I heard him remark, he would turn to a “Let's Play” video on YouTube or the like, and that got my attention. This is where the gamers who were gamers before marriage and kids and full-time jobs are going. Even those without one point or another on this front—unmarried but working full-time, married but not working, and so on—are likely involved on this front. Indeed, there is a segment of the e-sports viewing population that is both unemployed and not seeking a job, according to the figures from Newzoo.

This is a good sign. There's a major market in here—one of the truly prized demographics is in major attendance here—and that's drawing the attention of big brand names. With big brand names putting up cash in advertising, prize money and the like, that's going to keep the sport going for some time to come. With the sport going, competitors and imitators get involved, now with a point to bring up to early sponsors about how far this “e-sports thing” goes. That's good news for the viewer, and good news for the whole field.

This is likely to prove just the tip of the iceberg long-term, and more and more, we should be seeing some very big things afoot in the field of e-sport.