Launch of Gfinity Elite Series in Australia

RNS Number : 2486N

Gfinity PLC

07 August 2017

 

Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR)

Gfinity plc

("Gfinity" or the "Company")

Launch of Gfinity Elite Series in Australia

Agreement to licence and launch its proprietary esports tournament in Australia as part of a planned international roll-out

Gfinity plc, a leading international esports group, announces the launch of the Gfinity Elite Series in Australia. The Gfinity Elite Series Australia will be launched through a newly formed joint venture, Gfinity Esports Australia, in conjunction with HT&E Events Limited, itself a joint venture between HT&E Limited ('Here, There & Everywhere') a leading, ASX-listed, media and entertainment business, and IKON Media & Entertainment.

This agreement follows the successful launch of the Gfinity Elite Series in the UK in July 2017 and marks the first of what is planned to be a series of international Gfinity Elite Series esports tournaments.  Since the start of the Gfinity Elite Series, the cumulative total of unique viewers for the live stream shows have totalled 2.7 million fans, who between them have streamed over 17 years of video content, on top of the TV viewership from broadcast partner networks, BBC, BT Sport and Eleven Sport.  Furthermore, the Gfinity Elite Series has reached over 15 million people worldwide through its earned media channels, with a growth of 300% week-over-week of esports fans actively engaging with the content.

Gfinity Elite Series Australia will mirror the format of the UK competition, providing a clear and structured pathway for the millions of amateur gamers in Australia to compete online for the chance to be drafted by one of the Gfinity Elite Series Australia's professional teams. The Gfinity Elite Series Australia itself will see city-based professional franchise teams battle it out on a weekly basis, with each event broadcast live online and across other TV and media platforms to an Australian esports audience currently estimated at 2.2 million people.

Under the joint venture arrangement, Gfinity has entered into a 5 year agreement to license its proprietary Gfinity Elite Series format and brand, together with the esports tournament technology that underpins it, to the joint venture entity, Gfinity Esports Australia, in return for an annual license fee.  Gfinity owns 30 per cent of Gfinity Esports Australia.

This agreement represents the first license of the Gfinity Elite Series format and technology outside the UK and is the first step in Gfinity's strategy of working with major partners in multiple geographies, to establish the Gfinity Elite Series as the leading global format for professional esports competitions and the basis for a truly global esport competition.

Neville Upton, Chief Executive of Gfinity, said:

"Gfinity shares a passion for esports with gamers and fans across the world.  Following Elite Series' immense popularity in the UK, we're excited to bring it to Australia where HT&E's expertise and extensive knowledge in the Australian market will be invaluable as we aim to build the most engaging and dynamic esports offering in Australia."

HT&E CEO & Managing Director, Ciaran Davis says: 

"The global esports market has seen substantial growth in recent years, and we're really excited to be entering this space with an established, world leading esports company, Gfinity. This move supports our strategic objectives to diversify revenues and expand our audience base, and we see in this opportunity the potential to reach a younger audience base and drive growth for HT&E."

Enquiries:

Gfinity plc	www.gfinityplc.com
Neville Upton, Chief Executive Officer	Via Walbrook PR
Allenby Capital Limited - AIM Nominated Adviser and Broker	Tel. [phone]
Jeremy Porter / John Depasquale / James Thomas
Walbrook PR (Media & Investor Relations)	Tel: [phone]
Paul Cornelius / Helen Cresswell / Sam Allen	or [e-mail]

About HT&E

HT&E Limited (previously known as APN News & Media Limited) is a leading Australian media and entertainment business, with diverse assets in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, which has a market capitalisation in excess of AU$ 800m.  HT&E - Here, There & Everywhere - reflects the company's portfolio of leading, high quality metropolitan media assets across radio, outdoor and digital. For more information visit www.htande.com.au.

About Gfinity

Gfinity is a leading international esports entertainment business.  The London-based company enjoys strong relationships with the pre-eminent game publishers, esport players and the wider esports community and has built a reputation for delivering top quality esport competitions, both on-line and off-line, and producing industry leading esports broadcasts.

Gfinity delivers online esport competitions open to all registrants and  stages world leading off-line events in which the world's top esport players travel to the Gfinity Esports Arena in London to take part in competitions broadcast on-line to millions of viewers worldwide.  Gfinity stages live esports events featuring top video gaming titles, across PCs, consoles and mobile devices.

Gfinity monetises the strong position that it has created in professional esports through a combination of sponsorship, advertising, and broadcast income relating to Gfinity's own events.  Gfinity will also earn license fees and revenue share from licensing the Gfinity Elite Series format as part of an international roll-out  in addition to fees received for creating and delivering bespoke events for sponsors and game publishers seeking to engage with the esports community.

In 2017 Gfinity launched the Gfinity Elite Series professional esports tournament which has quickly established itself as the pre-eminent professional esports competition in the UK.

 

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