Five will offer their viewers an additional user experience by allowing them to register and play skill games for fun or real money on the site. Launched in 1997, Five currently boasts around 50 million UK viewers across all platforms with a share of total viewing across the commercial networks of over 67.3 percent. Five is regarded as a leader in its field pertaining to commercial airtime, including sponsorship, interactive and advertiser-funded programming.
Online skill games are proving to be a significant growth area and by leveraging their commercial reach to a wide audience, Five aims to generate significant player revenues as well as building a vibrant online gaming community.
GameAccount will power the skill gaming area on the Five portal, offering a full suite of non-download classic multiplayer and 'heads-up' games such as Gin Rummy, unique P2P variants of other games such as Mah Jong, 8-ball Pool and an impressive variety of popular Solitaire formats. The network also supports bespoke tournaments on demand - including the world's largest knockout tournament with over 16 000 entrants.
"Skill Gaming is a new frontier for Five. We want to offer innovative and engaging online experiences for our viewers. We are aiming to tie in our broadcast capacity with our skill games offering in order to open up new revenue channels and further narrow the gap between online and TV." said Laura Bowes, Commercial Development Manager at Five.
Kevin Dale, Chief Executive at GameAccount, sees significant cross-over opportunities for media companies looking to expand their platforms. "Skill Games provide a low barrier to entry into cross-media advertising channels and appeals strongly to audiences who like to play recognisable games for real money, comparable to the Bingo or Poker phenomena. We're seeing very healthy player conversion rates and revenues from this type of deal."
GameAccount is now emerging as a strong player in the television arena, having implemented services for Skybet, a division of British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB), as well as an dvertising agreement and dedicated site with Mintplay.com. The company aims to acquire further customers through effectively marketed branded portals associated with the world's leading media companies.
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