Gfinity Plus to go live

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via the Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

13 July 2020

Gfinity plc

("Gfinity" or the "Company")

Gfinity Plus rewards programme to go live for Company's millions of website visitors

Gfinity (AIM: GFIN), a world-leading esports and gaming solutions provider, announces that further to its announcement on 25 May, Gfinity Plus will go live on Wednesday 15 July 2020, allowing gamers to register and be eligible for giveaways and incentives.

Gfinity Plus is a reward-based product for Gfinity's online community, that will also offer exclusive content, forums and gamification from August. Gfinity is using its own technical IP for the first time on its websites to provide functions that deepen visitor engagement such as fan forums and capability to comment on articles.

Gfinity Plus will be available to gamers who visit all the Gfinity Digital Media sites, starting with gfinityesports.com, before being rolled out across realsport101.com and stealthoptional.com.

The Gfinity Digital Media division is one of the fastest growing revenue streams for the Company and is expected to generate revenues of £2 million in this financial year ending 30 June 2021 and it will be pivotal in the Company reaching its target of moving into profitability in Q1 of 2021 calendar year. Gfinity Digital Media generates revenue through website takeovers and programmatic advertising; ecommerce and content creation; and building community product for partners. Gfinity Plus will help increase CPM (cost per thousand impressions, the value of the ads on the sites) through deeper engagement with viewers such as increased dwell time, more sessions per user and returning visits.

The Company has also bolstered its affiliate network and its partners now include Amazon, Rakuten, Awin and Impact.  Gfinity is also working with LEGO and is in discussions with other prominent third-party reward platforms to offer further rewards and incentives and to bolster affiliate revenue across its sites.

Gfinity Digital Media has delivered more than £150,000 in CPM-based advertising revenue since it announced the partnership with Venatus on 25 March 2020. The sites have become popular destinations for the latest news on FIFA, Fortnite, Call of Duty and Minecraft. The websites have hosted programmatic campaigns from leading gaming companies and are now well positioned for the new console launches, combined with AAA game releases, in Q4 2020. 

New website video partner

Gfinity today also announces a partnership with Connatix, a video serving platform used by Mashable and Reuters. The platform allows Gfinity Digital Media sites to serve more lucrative video ads, faster, driving increased revenues. It is specifically designed to increase ad utilisation on mobile devices, which is a fast-growing platform for gameplay.

Transition of RealSport101.com to new technology platform

In August, Realsport101 will transition to the same technology platform as gfinityesports.com. This will allow the site to be fully optimised for advertising, allowing for improved page load time across desktop and mobile, ad placement and delivery, which will boost ad viewability and increase inventory value. This work has been completed to ensure the site can fully maximise the revenue opportunities in Q4 this year.

John Clarke, CEO Gfinity, said:

"Every month millions of gamers engage with our content and the launch of Gfinity Plus will provide the opportunity for even greater engagement across our sites. Through the combination of Gfinity Plus, our new e-commerce initiative and newly launched video serving platform, it is clear we are just starting to scratch the surface of the commercial opportunity presented by our owned community, which is hugely exciting for us on our pathway to profitability. Gfinity Digital Media is one of our fastest growing revenue streams and is expected to generate revenue of £2 million this financial year. It will be pivotal in the Company reaching its target of moving into profitability in Q1 of 2021 calendar year.

The launch of Gfinity Plus is another important milestone for the Company that has seen strong momentum in recent months, with the multi-year agreement with F1 and a five-year partnership with Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management, demonstrating how Gfinity is best placed to deliver unique esports solutions for its partners."

ENDS

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About Gfinity

Gfinity (AIM: GFIN) is a world leading esports business. Created by gamers for the world's 2.2 billion gamers, Gfinity has a unique understanding of this fast-growing global community.  It uses this expertise both to provide advisory services and to design, develop and deliver unparalleled experiences and winning strategies for game publishers, sports rights holders, commercial partners and media companies.

Gfinity connects its partners with the esports community in authentic and innovative ways. This consists of on‑ and off-line competitions and industry‑leading content production. Relationships include EA SPORTS, Activision Blizzard, F1 Esports Series and the Forza Racing Championship.

Gfinity connects directly with competitive gaming consumers through its growing community of gamers on its own platforms: Gfinityesports, RealSport101 and StealthOptional.

All Gfinity services are underpinned by the Company's proprietary technology platform delivering a level playing field for all competitors and supporting scalable multi-format leagues, ladders and knockout competitions.