Game Plus, a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment that focuses on live sports and wagering content, is moving into the chess business through a programming partnership with Chess.com.
Starting June 4, Game Plus will air a three-hour block starting with Chess.com Presents Chess Moves at 9 p.m. ET. The show will discuss playing tips for beginners, advanced strategies, features and speed games.
Following Chess.com Presents Chess Moves will be two hours of classic coverage from the Chess.com archives featuring championship matches and legendary players like Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri.
Anthem says this is the first time chess-themed content has been featured prominently on a weekly basis on primetime television in North America.
“Chess has such a great history and continues to grow in popularity generation after generation,” said Chad Midgley, VP of content for Anthem. “Chess.com is the leading purveyor of chess in the online landscape, ushering the game into the digital age on a global scale and attracting new passionate players every single day. By adding chess to our lineup, we hope that it will encourage and inspire viewers to get on the board and discover all of the skills, strategies, and magic that makes the game so special.”
Game Plus is carried by operators including Altice USA’s Optimum and Suddenlink, RCN and Buckeye Cable. Chess content joins live sports wagering content, esports coverage, fantasy sports, gaming news and information, high stakes poker, live action sports, wrestling and fast-paced, action driven shows and lifestyle programming on the channel.
“I’m excited to see our chess media distribution continue to expand and our partnership with Game Plus is a huge new step forward for us,” said Chess.com CEO Erik Allebest. “The Chess Moves programming concept is amazing and I can’t wait to watch.”
