The QYou’s esports format Heads Up Daily (HUD) will make its European debut on AXN Spin, a pay-TV channel owned by Sony Pictures Television.
The show will premiere in Romania, Slovenia, Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia in September, and in Poland and Bulgaria in October.
The QYou says the launch of HUD on AXN capitalises on the appetite for esports by taking it from its online roots and delivering it to viewers in a format that appeals to both esports fans and mainstream audiences.
The premiere of HUD in Eastern Europe further extends the reach of the format. It originally premiered on Super Channel’s GINX Esports TV Canada in January and has quickly become one of its flagship shows, attracting over 500,000 subscribers. Since then it has been licensed for distribution by World Poker Tour (WPT) Distribution USA and was made available on IGTV, Instagram’s TV platform in July to further expand the audience.
Curt Marvis, CEO and co-founder of QYOU Media, commented: “In recent years esports has enjoyed a boom in popularity, particularly in markets like Asia, North America and Eastern Europe. Yet, despite generating huge engagement online among avid esports fans, it wasn’t having the same impact on mainstream audiences. Adapting digital-first content for TV is deeply embedded in QYOU’s DNA and we took the opportunity to create an esports offering for broadcasters that would appeal to both diehard gaming fans and mainstream viewers.
“We are excited to continue the growth of HUD by launching it in Europe for the first time with one of the region’s major pay-TV networks.”
