MTG to Roll Out eSports TV Channel, Viafree Streaming Service

STOCKHOLM: MTG is bringing the new video streaming service Viafree across Scandinavia, in addition to launching eSportsTV.

Viafree will complement MTG’s subscription streaming service Viaplay. Launching after summer, Viafree will provide an array of free video content online and mobile, including full seasons of hit formats like Parneviks (Sweden), MasterChef Norge (Norway), Familjen fra Bryggen (Denmark) and Paradise Hotel, together with web exclusive productions and content from Splay and other MTG family brands. MTG will also be adding more content from third-party broadcasters and producers.

Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, MTG’s president and CEO, said: “Viafree is the next step for our broad digital content offering. We are making our free content as easily and broadly available as possible, and hope that both local and international content owners and distributors will join the platform. Viafree will sit alongside our Viaplay subscription service to bring consumers a unique range of easy to use on-demand services on all connected devices. We will also take online video content to a new level in Scandinavia by bringing consumers more content than ever before!”

eSportsTV is being billed as the world’s first 24/7 dedicated eSports channel, set to launch in May. The channel will soon be available on MTG’s Viasat satellite platforms in the Nordic and Baltic countries. MTG’s ESL is also currently in talks with TV distributors and platform operators around the world. The new channel will focus on bringing more than 2,000 live hours of the best eSports and gaming each year.

Arnd Benninghoff, CEO of MTGx, and Peter Nørrelund, CEO of MTG Sport, said: “This is a fantastic move by ESL because it will bring eSports to an even broader global audience. eSports is a global sport played all year round so there is so much content to share. The channel is all about building awareness and growing the gaming community and fan base. There are over 2 billion gamers in the world and we have seen an explosion of interest in eSports, with the global fan base now rapidly rising towards 250 million, which is why we want to make more and more eSports content available on as many screens as possible.”