Sky & ITV Back Launch of New eSports Channel

LONDON: Sky and ITV have aligned with Ginx TV to launch the U.K. and Ireland’s first and only 24-hour eSports TV channel, GINX eSports TV.

ITV and Sky are expected to take minority stakes in the business to support its growth. The channel, formerly known as Ginx TV, will launch in the Sports section of the Sky electronic program guide on June 23. GINX eSports TV will showcase major eSports tournaments from across the globe, as well as independent programming. Outside of the U.K. and Ireland, GINX eSports TV will be distributed to an additional 23 million households, making it the largest eSports TV channel in the world, with a reach of 37 million homes.

Michiel Bakker, Ginx TV’s CEO, said: “GINX eSports TV aims to add significant mainstream TV exposure to the fast-growing eSports ecosystem. Complementing online streaming, with an entertainment-led approach, the launch on Sky and the rebrand across all our 37 million households allows us to help new audiences discover eSports and hopefully gives core fans a fresh perspective. I am also delighted about the prospect of Sky and ITV joining our shareholder roster; it goes without saying that the combined media footprint and expertise of both presents a significant opportunity for us to make a bigger impact, faster.”

Emma Lloyd, the group director of business development and strategic partnerships at Sky, commented: “This is an exciting new partnership which will help us develop our understanding of eSports and its audience. At Sky we are committed to bringing new programs and channels such as GINX eSports TV to support and extend our leadership position in content. We look forward to working with Ginx and ITV on developing a channel which will capture the growing appetite for eSports.”

Simon Pitts, ITV’s managing director of online, pay and interactive, said: “eSports is experiencing phenomenal growth and Ginx’s vision is to bring together two incredibly popular forms of entertainment—gaming and television—to create a unique, global proposition. We’re delighted to be partnering with Ginx and Sky as part of our strategy to target younger audiences, develop new programming genres and expand internationally.”