17 April 2015
Gfinity plc
("Gfinity" or "the Company")
First major eSports partnership agreement signed with News Corp UK & Ireland Limited ("News UK") owner of The Sun
Gfinity (AIM: GFIN), a leading eSports business and News UK, part of the global media group News Corp, are pleased to announce they have signed a major sponsorship agreement for The Sun to become Gfinity's official newspaper and on-line news partner in the UK and Ireland.
The two-year commercial partnership is the first such major agreement signed by Gfinity and will contribute significantly towards the Company achieving its revenue targets this year and in 2016. The deal is exclusive to the publishing and on-line media industry in the UK and Ireland, however, it does not block Gfinity from negotiating a separate deal for the rights to broadcast its content and tournaments on television.
The partnership contract enables The Sun to become:
· Official partner for 2015 and 2016 Gfinity Championship Series
· Title sponsors of 2015 and 2016 Gfinity UK Championship Series
· Lead sponsor of Gfinity's High Performance Programme, an initiative that helps develop world class eSports players in the UK (for the second year of the contract)
· Title sponsor of Gfinity's weekly on-line tournaments, the Gfinity Community Gaming Series (for second year of the contract)
The agreement signals the growing popularity of eSports in the UK and Gfinity hopes it will lead to an increase in audience figures, create new revenue streams and provide an opportunity to uncover the next generation of eSport stars.
Furthermore, The Sun will benefit from a suite of rights including broadcast advertising, in-game branding, digital advertising, venue branding, content, and direct marketing. The sponsorship package will establish News UK and its brands, such as The Sun, as the biggest supporters of eSports in the UK.
Readers of The Sun will get priority ticket purchase rights and exclusive access to feature footage and interviews from Gfinity events. Both parties are working together on the development of an e-commerce platform, through which they intend to sell eSports related merchandise.
Neville Upton, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gfinity, said: "We are delighted to have signed this agreement with News UK, one of the largest media companies in the UK. Their faith in what Gfinity are doing is a testament to the exceptional quality of product we already have on offer. The backing of such a large organisation is not only great news for us but also a huge boost to the UK's growing eSports sector."
"This is not a simple sponsorship agreement but a strategic partnership that will enable both parties to improve, develop and grow the UK's evolving eSports sector."
Mike Darcey, CEO of News UK, said: "Through our new partnership with Gfinity, we are proud to have become the first newspaper group to break into the expanding eSports market. Producing world-class journalism is at the heart of what News UK does, but as part of our business development strategy we actively seek out opportunities to reach new audiences through different media. We now look forward to uncovering new commercial opportunities and relationships in this exciting new sector."
Enquiries
Gfinity plc |
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Jonathan Hall, Finance Director Neville Upton, Chief Executive Officer |
+44 330 223 0860 |
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Arden Partners plc - Nominated Adviser and Broker |
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Chris Hardie, Ciaran Walsh |
+44 20 7614 5900 |
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Luther Pendragon - PR adviser to Gfinity |
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Neil Thapar, Alexis Gore, Oliver Hibberd |
+44 20 7618 9100 |
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eSports
eSports is a rapidly growing market with viewership increasing almost eight-fold in the last four years. SuperData's digital games market report (April 2014) revealed the total viewership in the eSports market is now believed to have surpassed 70 million in 2013, doubling year-over-year. Twitch, the eSport streaming website, recently announced that they have reached 100 million unique users per month, more than double the 45 million achieved in 2013.
About Gfinity
Gfinity is a leading UK-based eSports company serving, in co-operation with games publishers, a rapidly-growing community of on-line gamers worldwide. Founded in September 2012, the Company has established a popular on-line brand, gfinity.net, where gamers can compete, socialise and enjoy a wide range of content relating to electronic games on a proprietary technology platform. This platform enables Gfinity to run a regular roster of on-line competitions, leagues and ladders with the opportunity for gamers to enter and potentially win substantial prize money and/or pit their skills against professional and widely-followed ''star'' players.
Gfinity registered users can enter these events and competitions either without charge or on a pay-to-enter basis. In addition Gfinity hosts live tournaments, the most recent of which was G3, an event that attracted 3,830 ticket paying spectators and achieved 8.7 million on-line views over a single weekend. These events are based around several of the industry's best selling games such as Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, FIFA 2015, CS:GO, StarCraft and Halo.
Gfinity has quickly become a widely-recognised "destination" for gamers in the UK and internationally, typically aged 18 - 34 years old. The growing user base - growth in registered user base increased from 43,387 as at 30 June 2014 to approaching 300,000 in December - and the demographic of Gfinity's audience, together with the sheer numbers who view Gfinity's events online, provide brand owners and advertisers with an attractive environment in which to promote their products and services, as well as offering Gfinity the opportunity to generate significant revenues over the long term. Gfinity website: www.gfinityplc.com
About News UK
News UK is home to some of the biggest and most popular British newspapers. The Times and The Sunday Times are the world's best-known quality newspapers and The Sun remains the most read British newspaper with more than 11 million readers per week.
While our papers have individual identities that reflect their different heritage, all look to break the most important stories, inform our readers, champion them and the causes closest to their hearts, and help them make sense of the modern world. News UK's titles have a weekly print reach of approximately 15 million readers, and represent around 32.5% of UK circulation of national dailies. Employing around 2,600 in operations spanning journalism, printing, brand extensions, distribution and back-office support across the UK, the direct and indirect contributions made by News UK businesses to UK GDP are considerable.
For more information please go to www.news.co.ukor follow us on Twitter @NewsUK.
