Bt Sport Partners With Gfinity For Esports Series
BT Sport has partnered with Gfinity which has seen the pair launch the BT Sport FIFA Challenge, featuring celebrities facing off in weekly matches.
The series kicked off with a draft show and will be followed by matches between the celebrity squads, culminating in a Grand Final on June 5th.
The four-team tournament, each captained by a member of the BT Sport talent team, will also feature sports stars from the world of rugby, and men’s and women’s football. An all-female squad will be led by singer and Fulham Ladies player Chelcee Grimes.
Jamie Hindhaugh, COO BT Sport, said “Lockdown has meant that we have been looking at new content and formats to give our viewers their sport fix while there is no live sport. The good news is that this has accelerated our esports plans with Gfinity and we’ll be kicking this off in May, using our market leading remote production capabilities, with a fun, chat based, FIFA gaming format with plenty of competition between our BT Sport teams that we hope our viewers will enjoy.”
Gfinity and BT Sport will work together over the coming months with a view to launching ‘new concepts’ within the esports space and continuing the partnership after the coronavirus crisis has ended.
The pair will co-produce the series with each episode produced remotely using BT’s newly developed technology alongside Gfinity’s experience in managing multi-feed gameplay and devising engaging and competitive entertainment.
Amanda Lawson, Global Head of Content, Gfinity, said, “To finally get to bring a show to the screen in partnership with BT Sport is extremely exciting. Our focus this year has been on developing formats and shows that work for TV audiences in a way that ‘traditional esports’ has previously come up short. As with all good TV shows, this series will feature top talent, a unique and entertaining format and a fiercely contested competition. We very much look forward to working with BT Sport on further esports concepts and to bringing exciting new shows to their viewers.”
Earlier this year, BT teamed up with British esports outfit Excel Esports, and will become the team’s Exclusive Lead Partner with the brand’s logo appearing on kit worn by the team’s League of Legends players.
