Gfinity and The Sun combine for UK eSports push
Gfinity, the online gaming brand, has teamed up with The Sun newspaper to spur growth in the UK eSports market through promotion of the annual Gfinity Championships.
This aims to establish a rapidly growing community of online gamers within mainstream press, to engage a mass audience in the niche sport.
The strategic partnership will run for two years and will see The Sun become the official partner for the Gfinity Championship Series 2015/16 and title sponsor of the UK Championship Series.
Publisher News UK will also be offered broadcast advertising, in-game branding, digital advertising, venue branding, content, and direct marketing to broaden the tie-up.
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. The organisation’s faith in Gfinity is 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 burgeoning eSports sector.”
Mike Darcey, CEO of News UK, added: “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.”
Both partners are also collaborating on an upcoming e-commerce platform for the sale of eSport merchandise.