Blue Ant Gaming to be largest source of gaming-oriented media impressions in Canada and offer marketers substantial multi-platform opportunities for reaching male millennials
(Toronto, ON – January 23, 2019) – Blue Ant Media, an international content producer, distributor and channel operator, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with international video gaming network Enthusiast Gaming to represent the company’s Canadian consumer marketing opportunities, including digital inventory, consumer show sponsorships and experiential activations. Enthusiast Gaming is an online community of authentic video gamers with over 75 million monthly visitors and more than 80 owned and affiliated websites, including The Escapist, Destructoid, Nintendo Enthusiast and Daily Esports, as well as Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo (EGLX), Canada’s largest gaming expo, with over 55,000 attendees in 2018. Combined with Blue Ant Media’s existing gaming channels through the company’s massive You Tube digital video network for gamers, the deal with Enthusiast Gaming boosts the company’s reach in the gaming space in Canada to industry-leading levels with more than 5 million Unique Monthly Visitors and over 400 million monthly ad impressions.
Coinciding with this announcement is news that Blue Ant Media will leverage its expanded reach in the gaming category to announce the launch of a new sales stream, Blue Ant Gaming. This new sales division will focus on providing advertisers streamlined packages to reach engaged Canadian gamers through access to live events, long and short-form content, 800+ gaming influencers and a targeted gaming audience on desktop, mobile and YouTube as well as create custom advertising opportunities in the gaming category. Sales for Blue Ant Gaming will be led by Greg Trought, VP, Media Sales and Brand Integration and Robert Rames, Account Director, Gaming and Entertainment Strategy.
“Gaming content is the fastest growing category of our digital ad business and this new deal with Enthusiast Gaming has given Blue Ant Media a huge boost in scale, positioning us as the leader in this space within the Canadian market,” said Mitch Dent, SVP, Media Sales & Blue Ant Plus, Blue Ant Media. “Launching a dedicated gaming sales arm will allow us to give our Canadian advertisers significant reach in the core millennial male audience across multiple digital and real-world touchpoints.”
Menashe Kestenbaum, CEO of Enthusiast Gaming commented, “Being backed by Blue Ant Medis’s strong Canadian presence and powerhouse sales force will help us drive advertising revenue across our Canadian digital inventory. Engaging Blue Ant Media is one part of our strategy to build out a strong, multi-leveled sales force in North America. We look forward to working with the Blue Ant team moving forward.”
Based in Los Angeles, Blue Ant Media’s existing gaming business includes both digital video network and a content studio for gamers. Working with a roster of top gaming talents, Blue Ant Media creates original content for third party distributors, including YouTube Originals and Facebook, and brand marketers. Prior to partnering with Enthusiast Gaming, the company’s publishing portfolio amassed over two billion monthly views and a social media footprint of over 200 million followers.
Blue Ant Media is a privately held, international content producer, distributor and channel operator. From our production houses around the world, we create content for multiple genres including factual, factual entertainment, short-form digital series and kids programming. Our distribution business, Blue Ant International, offers a catalogue of 3,000+ hours of content, including the largest 4K natural history offering on the market. Blue Ant Media’s international channel business offers a portfolio of media brands such as Love Nature (International), ZooMoo Networks (International), Smithsonian Channel Canada, BBC Earth (Canada), Blue Ant Entertainment (International), Blue Ant Extreme (International) and HGTV (New Zealand). Blue Ant Media is headquartered in Toronto, with operations in Los Angeles, Singapore, Auckland, Dunedin, London, Washington, Sydney, Beijing and Taipei. Blueantmedia.com. Follow us on: Twitter/LinkedIN/Instagram
Founded in 2014, Enthusiast is the fastest-growing online community of video gamers. Through the Company’s unique acquisition strategy, it has a platform of over 80 owned and affiliated websites and currently reaches over 75 million monthly visitors with its unique and curated content. Enthusiast also owns and operates Canada’s largest gaming expo, Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo, EGLX, (www.eglx.ca). Over 30,000 people attended EGLX in October 2018. For more information on the Company, visit www.enthusiastgaming.com.