Prediction: G4 Expands Across The UK, Europe And South Africa Through Ginx Esports TV

G4 is an upcoming gaming brand from NBCUniversal which is scheduled to released by the end of the year in the United States and serves as a rival to SPI International's Gametoons and a spinoff to Sky's Ginx Esports TV.

The revived brand will feature new episodes of past series such as Attack Of The Show!, X-Play, G4TV Esports and Ninja Warrior. They'be even greenlit a new series which stars WWE superstar, Xavier Woods.

Even though, there hasn't been any indicator to a possible rollout it's very likely that it will launch under Ginx Esports TV since Sky is owned by Comcast that also manage NBCUniversal International.

It's also possible that some of the content seen on Ginx Esports TV will be scrapped for 'localised version' of G4's upcoming content seeing as both channels have original content in their respective markets.

Comcast recently partnered up with ViacomCBS International to rollout a new streaming service across Europe called SkyShowcase which will see the best of Peacock and Paramount+ rollout under one brand.

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GINX Esports TV Undergoes Changes On The DStv Platform

GINX Esports TV, the leading TV channel dedicated to esports across the globe, is to move from 240 to 127 on DStv.

From June 25th, the esports TV channel will move from its current position in the sports section of the EPG (Electronic Program guide) to a new home among entertainment and lifestyle channels, channel 127.

Neighbouring channels include global lifestyle channels, BET and MTV. GINX Esports TV is expecting this change to make it easier for new viewers to discover the channel.

“GINX Esports TV’s community is growing every day, especially in South Africa. With this change we expect even more people to discover the channel” said Julia Robson, GINX Esports TV’s Esport Correspondent for Africa.

GINX Esports TV provides unique round-the-clock esports and lifestyle coverage, catering to all esports communities. Some of its iconic programmes include The First Hour, This Week in Esports or Daily Download, a daily light-hearted chat show about what’s happening in the world of esports and gaming.

For more info about the channel and how to watch, visit ginx.tv

About GINX Esports TV
GINX Esports TV is the world’s largest esports tv network and is available in over 40 countries in 55+ million homes internationally including: UK, France, Scandinavia, Middle East, South Africa and a partnership with Super Channel in Canada.

The linear 24/7 channel aims to extend esports’ reach into television and to provide a more mainstream voice in the esports ecosystem. GINX Esports TV is the home of esports on TV.

GINX - Facebook / Twitter

About MultiChoice
MultiChoice Group is Africa's leading multi-channel digital satellite and pay-television destination, offering its 14 million customers access to a world of entertainment, anywhere, anytime. MultiChoice has been in operation for the past 20 years and through its flagship product brand, DStv, the company delivers the latest and most compelling local and international content to millions of households across Africa. The company’s ongoing commitment to innovation and technology advancement resulted in the creation of its iconic high definition PVR decoder, the DStv Explora – which won the Product of the Year for 2015. Through its corporate social investment, MultiChoice actively participates in social transformation, ongoing investment in local content, job creation and skills development - which in turn strengthens the television and broadcasting industry and contributes to the South African economy.

New Supersport Channel Line Up Coming Soon On DStv With New Esports Channel

SuperSport has introduced a new channel line up to give sport lovers a better viewing experience and make it easy for fans to find their favourite sport. DStv customers can look forward to 14 SuperSport and one eSports channel, with less duplication of sports across channels and more predictable scheduling.

DStv customers on all packages can look forward to a rebranded SuperSport Select, now on SS10, and DStv Extra customers will get more sports channels – SS7 and SS8.

Fans of football can follow La Liga on SS7 exclusively, and SS11 (new channel) and SS12 will become permanent events channels to be the home for overflow sport.

“We believe that these changes will give our customers an even better viewing experience, making it easier to navigate our wide variety of sports in the back-to-back channels. As there will be less duplication and repeats of sport, and no impact on live events, the overall sport viewing will be enhanced,” said Gideon Khobane, CEO for SuperSport.

eSports is growing in popularity, so GINX eSports TV that is currently available on DStv Now, will find a home on DStv channel 240. DStv Premium, Extra and Compact customers will be able to enjoy the action on this unique channel.

And of course, most of the channels will be in glorious HD – SS Blitz, SS1-9 and SS11 will be in HD, as will GINX eSports TV. SS8 is currently in SD and will change to HD.

Gideon reassured fans “SuperSport is still the home of the best sporting action on the African continent.”

The new channel line up will take effect on 4 July. Sports fans will start their viewing on Channel 200 on SuperSport Blitz through to SuperSport 12.

DStv customers can go to DStv.com or SuperSport.com to see how the sports are allocated across the different SuperSport channels.

And remember to tune in – at home on your decoder, or through DStv Now online or via the DStv Now app on your tablet or smartphone. DStv Now is available to our Compact, Extra and Premium customers at no extra charge. You don't have to miss a second of the action.

Summary of changes

SS7 and SS8 will go to DStv Extra customers
SS7 will be home of La Liga Football
SS Select will no longer exist on DStv – replaced with SS10 for all customers who currently get it including DStv Select customers
SS11 and SS12 will become permanent events channels – no more overflow channels
GINX eSport, currently available on DStv Now, will be on DStv channel 240
12 HD channels available – SS Blitz (to all DStv customers), SS1-9, SS11 and Ginx eSports. SS8, currently in SD, will become HD.

SuperSport Channel Optimisation FAQ’s

What is happening to the SuperSport channels?
SS7 and SS8 will go to DStv Extra customers
SS7 will be home of La Liga Football
SS Select will no longer exist on DStv – replaced with SS10 for all customers who currently get it including DStv Select customers
SS11 and SS12 will become permanent events channels – no more overflow channels
GINX eSport, currently available on DStv Now, will be on DStv channel 240
12 HD channels available – SS Blitz (to all DStv customers), SS1-9, SS11 and Ginx eSports

What is the benefits of the optimization to customers?
Fewer repeats and less duplication of sports
Predictable events channels on SS11 and SS12
Know which channel you can find your sports – SS7 dedicated to La Liga

Which channel will be rebranded?
SuperSport Select will now be called SS10. All customers who received SuperSport Select, will get SS10.

Which new channels are being added?
SS11 is being added as an event channel for overflow sport for live events.
Also GINX eSport is added to DStv channel 240.

Are any channels being changed?
SuperSport 12 - currently a 24-hour La Liga (Spanish football) channel - will become an events channel like SS11. La Liga will find a permanent home on SS7.

When do the changes come into effect?
The new line-up will come into effect on Tuesday, July 4.

Do customers need to do anything?
No need to do anything as the changes will happen automatically on 4 July. We encourage customers to go to DStv.com and SuperSport.com to familiarize themselves with where they will find their favourite sport.

What will be the total number of channels available on SuperSport after July 4?
14

Which DStv package will carry which channel?
Blitz: On all packages, Premium, Extra, Compact, Select 1, Select 2, Family, Access and Easy View.
SS1: Premium only
SS2: Premium only
SS3: Premium, Extra and Compact
SS4: Premium, Extra and Compact
SS5: Premium only
SS6: Premium only
SS7: Premium and Extra
SS8: Premium and Extra
SS9: Premium, Extra and Compact
SS10: Premium, Extra, Compact, Select 1, Select 2 and Family, Access.
SS11: Premium only
SS12: Premium only
Maximo: Premium only
GINX eSports: Premium, Extra and Compact

This means our Extra customers get 3 more sports channels – SS7, SS8 and GINX
Our Premium customers get 2 more sports channels – SS11 and GINX
Our Compact customers get 1 more sport channel - GINX

In the repurposing, will there be any SD channels upgraded to HD?
Yes. SS8 will be upgraded to an HD channel, this will bring the total number of HD channels available to 12.

New 24/7 Esports Channel, Coming This May On DStv

In a first for South Africa, DStv and the UK-based GINX.tv will be launching a full 24/7 Esports and Gaming network, to be available over DStv Now and SuperSport website from 1st May 2017, with SuperSport also set to simulcast games over their DStv channels. It was revealed that SuperSport and DStv, and new partners GINX.tv, were working on some sort of Esports channel.

Now there's further details of the channel as well as when it will be available to the nation. In a email conversation with Gideon Khobane, CEO of SuperSport, Khobane spoke of the benefits of the the new partnership saying: “The deal with GINX is a massive leap forward and signals our intention to embrace the newest sport out there. There is a real buzz around eSports and we want to be part of that.” With Esports continuing to grow at such a rapid rate worldwide, news of this kind of exposure on a local front is extremely exciting and should assist in further fueling the growth of the sector as the extra exposure will surely please potential sponsors, who will be more inclined to inject even more money into the industry, resulting in more tournaments, more incentive to grow talent pools and thus feeding back into the entire ecosystem.

Telkom Gaming reached out to GINX.tv CEO Michiel Bakker for more information on the channel, which is set to be available from 1 May 2017:

Telkom Gaming (TG): What titles and games do DStv and GINX (you) plan to broadcast?

Michiel Bakker: “One of our earliest mantras at GINX esports TV was “All the games, All the time”! It really is still at the heart of who we are and everything we do. We aim to be a broad church for our esports audience and we focus on the current games at the centre of the biggest esport events as well as those nibbling on the edges. Right now we are covering Activision’s Call Of Duty World League (CWL) as well as Blizzard’s APEX Overwatch tournament from Korea and gearing up for Valve’s DOTA 2 Kiev Major.

GINX esports TV has recently covered CS:GO, Overwatch, League of Legends,
World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, StarCraft II, FIFA and Street Fighter V as well as titles such as SMITE, Paladins, Rocket League, Smash Bros., Heroes of the Storm and Vainglory. So our collective mission is to continue to walk that talk.” An extremely impressive amount of titles to be covered, even if I am a predominantly CS:GO fan, and this is still a giant leap forward for our local gamers and fans. Being able to watch esports on TV will not only increase viewers, but will also promote growth in our own South African competitive scene.

TG: Are there any South African or African matches you are going to cover?

Bakker: “As a consequence of our launch in Africa, we’d love to get more involved in the local African esports world. We haven’t covered South African matches so far, but we’d love to consider the option if given appropriate access and opportunity. It is very much in our DNA to cover global as well as local events and showcase local events on our international feeds. We are just as interested in grassroots esports events as we are in covering the Majors.”

TG: What is the initial plan or schedule for broadcasting? Will it be game highlights or live services?

Bakker: “Our initial agreement with DStv involves the delivery of our channel as a linear 24/7 service. Our channel includes live tournament coverage and tournament highlight programming from events such as the Call of Duty World League, ELEAGUE and Dota 2 Majors for example. We also produce many hours of esports entertainment programming such as The First Hour twice weekly live studio show ‘The Bridge’. Our agreement also includes a provision for some of our content to be showcased on one of the Supersport channels.”This would not be the first time SuperSport has tried their hand at Esports, having broadcast highlights from last year’s IEM Katowice CS:GO event on the channel last year, though this only left true fans begging for more. This time, it seems, we will be getting the full coverage we hoped and dreamed about.

TG: Will there be a whole separate channel dedicated to esports?

Bakker: “Yes! GINX esports TV is a 7-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day TV channel dedicated to esports, coming to DSTV! I don’t think we have been allocated an EPG number (Electronic Programing Guide) yet, but news on that will follow shortly. Right now we are making the necessary technical preparations to deliver the channel to DSTV’s uplink in SA.”

TG: Are you working with any other African brands to promote esports?

Bakker: “It is early days, but we are really keen to explore local collaborations. We’d love to work with African as well as with international brands to promote esports locally as well as around the world. On top of our new DSTV households in Africa, GINX esports TV reaches over 36 million homes worldwide, so we are hopeful there will be many opportunities to work with local partners to grow the esports ecosystem. We are open to explore cross-media partnerships with African online esports media, hopefully including your good selves. Being on TV brings a different, more mainstream, audience into esports, which should be complementary to existing media.”

GINX eSports TV will be available to DStv Access, Family, Compact, Extra and Premium customers, as well as to Compact, Extra and Premium customers on the DStv Now service online and on the application.