NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Service

September 17, 2019: Looking at ESPN and MTV as its ultimate blueprint, Video Game Entertainment and News Network — VENN — plans to launch next year as the eSports version of those two media giants.

VENN is led by veteran network and gaming executives Ariel Horn and Ben Kusin.

They said they already have nearly $20 million from such investors and co-founders as from current and/or former executives at Twitch, Riot Games and Blizzard Entertainment.

Organizers are planning 55 hours of original programming per week, with live studios in New York and Los Angeles.

That would include live sSports events, news and talk shows, gamer streams, documentaries and coverage of players and leagues similar to the way ESPN handles sports.

VENN said it already has deals with YouTube as well as Twitch for streaming deals. Other deals are being developed.

“I think we’re more of a hybridized ESPN and what MTV TRL (Total Request Live) was when it launched decades ago,” Kusin told AP. “That crossover that it brought music in that generation in the culture.”

VENN is already tapped into some of the top global eSports properties in the world.

Riot owns League of Legends, Blizzard owns Overwatch and Call of Duty (pictured).

“VENN was created as a singular media brand to unite a fragmented media marketplace,” Horn and Kusin said via the company.

“Its content will span multiple categories of entertainment, with original programming produced both in-house and with some of the biggest names and creators in gaming, entertainment, streaming, and esports.”

Kusin worked for Electronic Arts before becoming the global director for new media and strategic alliances at Vivendi Universal Games.

Horn was an executive at NBC Universal executive before becoming global head of eSports content for Riot Games.

They will serve as co-CEOs.

The total audience for the eSports category will reach 443 million this year and reach almost 600 million worldwide in 2022, according to eSports industry research and consulting firm Newzoo, San Francisco,

Revenue will top $1.09 billion this year and reach $1.79 billion by 2022.

According to Kusin, “Video games continue to define the culture of today’s youth. Streamers, casters, content creators, esports athletes — these are our new celebrities.

“VENN is giving this generation an overdue home and a heartbeat, with bi-coastal broadcast studios incorporating live audiences, premium production values, a 24/7 linear offering, and engaging and innovative formats that elevate and promote a culture traditionally overlooked by broadcast media.”

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