Gfinity expands esports into Australian with joint venture

International esports group Gfinity announced the launch of the Gfinity Elite Series in Australia on Monday, which it said would be launched through a newly formed joint venture, Gfinity Esports Australia, in conjunction with HT&E Events, which itself is a joint venture between ASX-listed HT&E and IKON Media & Entertainment.

The AIM-traded firm said the agreement followed the successful launch of the Gfinity Elite Series in the UK in July 2017 and marked the first of what was 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 had totalled 2.7 million fans, who between them had streamed more than 17 years of video content, on top of the television viewership from broadcast partner networks, BBC, BT Sport and Eleven Sport.

Additionally, the board said the Gfinity Elite Series had reached more than 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 shares a passion for esports with gamers and fans across the world,” said Gfinity chief executive Neville Upton.

!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.”

The board said Gfinity Elite Series Australia would 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.

It said the Gfinity Elite Series Australia itself would see city-based professional franchise teams play on a weekly basis, with each event broadcast live online and across other television and media platforms to an Australian esports audience currently estimated at 2.2 million people.

Under the joint venture arrangement, Gfinity entered into a five-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% of Gfinity Esports Australia.

The agreement represented the first license of the Gfinity Elite Series format and technology outside the UK, with the board calling it “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.

“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,” said HT&E CEO and managing director Ciaran Davis.

!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.”