Six months after announcing plans to merge, Torque Esports Corp., Frankly Inc., and WinView Inc., have completed the process, forming Engine Media. 

Engine Media derives its name from the acronym [Esports, News, Gaming, Interactive Network, Engagement]. The new entity is the result of Torque Esports taking over ownership of both Frankly and WinView, and gives the company a broad range of esports and gaming assets, which it plans to use to help launch new esports and live gaming experiences.

The company plans to generate revenue through a combination of; direct-to-consumer and subscription fees; streaming technology and data SaaS-based offerings; programmatic advertising and sponsorships; plus intellectual property licensing fees.

As of now, the clients of the combined companies span more than 1,200 television, print and radio brands, including CNN, ESPN, Discovery / Eurosport, Fox, Vice, Newsweek and Cumulus; dozens of gaming and tech companies, including EA, Activision, Blizzard, Take2Interactive, Microsoft, Google, Twitch and Ubisoft; and have connectivity spanning hundreds of millions of homes around the world. 

Tom Rogers has been appointed Executive Chairman, while Lou Schwartz and Darren Cox have taken up positions as Co-Chief Executive Officers, and Michael Munoz is Chief Financial Officer following the resignation of Robert Suttie. 

Discussing the news Executive Chairman of Engine Media, Tom Rogers, said: 

“Entertainment programming has moved quickly into the streaming world and now news and sports revenue models are highly challenged as subscriber fees from the traditional bundle models decline. As we have seen through the shelter-in-place orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, news and sports are searching for solutions that help them better access consumers, provide programming and unique experiences and tap into new revenue streams.

“Engine Media is coming to the table with new ways for the news, information, sports and esports content to thrive in this new media marketplace. While each of these businesses have established themselves by focusing on pieces of a new model, combining and integrating them together can create the scale that will not only benefit investors, but better serve clients, partners and customers in this new world.”

While Engine Media Co-CEO, Lou Schwartz, added:

“I am excited to be able to work with Tom and Darren to lead this company forward. We have a real treasure trove of assets in terms of technology, content, relationships and people. Our immediate goal is to put this all together quickly and effectively so that we can capitalize on the many opportunities that are in front of us to deliver compelling experiences for consumers, enhance the performance of our partners, grow revenues, drive profits and deliver value for our shareholders.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Though this merger has been a long time in the works, and was started way before the current COVID-19 crisis, events have made it all the more pressing for entertainment and media companies to evolve their offerings to better match the realities of the new world. 

Engine Media certainly has some serious assets and connections at its disposal, so it will be interesting to see how successful they are at achieving their stated goals. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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