TOKYO, JAPAN – July 30, 2018 –Nippon Television Network Corporation (NipponTV), the leading commercial broadcaster network and production powerhouse in Japan, announced today that the company has established AX Entertainment, Inc., a new eSports subsidiary company that will create its first eSports team AXIZ, a multi-gaming team comprised of professional gamers from various genres. The first competition will be card games where the team will participate in RAGE Shadowverse Pro League, a professional online card game battleground. In addition, the company will also debut its first 50-minute eSports show eGG(eSports Good Game) which will feature top professionals and documentation of players’ going through selection rounds, as well as the latest news on the world of eSports. The show will present everything worth knowing about the exciting field in an easily understandable fashion. It is set to stream online on Nippon TV’s Catch Up service, Hulu Japan, TVer, GYAO!, and OPENREC . The show is available as a finished program for international sales.
“As the demographic of television viewers in Japan continues to age, Nippon TV is faced with limited opportunities to come into contact with the younger generations in their 10s and early 20s who do not spend time in front of the small screen,”commented Nippon TV’s eSports project team. “We decided to actively create opportunities to reach the non-TV viewing demographic by entering the globally-expanding eSports arena, a business model that focuses on the youth and enables them to be the primary players and audiences.”
Players for AXIZ will spearhead the efforts to bring excitement to Japan’s eSports scene through various activities such as participating in professional leagues and appearing in linear TV shows. AXIZ is based on the word ‘axis’ and was selected as theteam name with the hope that it will become the central figure in the world of eSports. The team logo is based on a narwhal,known for its tusk that extends towards the sky representingNippon TV’s ambition of powerfully reaching the pinnacle of success.
About Nippon Television Network Corporation (Nippon TV)
Nippon TV is recognized as Japan’s viewer ratings champion having topped all timeslot categories for four consecutive years and garnering the largest profits in the country’s broadcasting industry. One of the biggest successes for the nation’s finest producer of all genres of programming is “Dragons’ Den”, a globally successful business show format that has more than 35 versions in territories across all continents of the world. The Emmy award winning version, “Shark Tank”, airs in the US. Following closely is the success of “Mother,” a scripted format that has become a mega hit in Turkey and has sold into 29 territories around the world, and “Woman –My Life for My Children-” which became an even bigger hit in Turkey and currently sold to 11 territories. With well-established companies that deal in a broad range of businesses from animation, movies, events, to fitness clubs, Nippon TV is leveraging its coveted platform to revolutionize digital media in an ever-changing industry. Launching a channel in Southeast Asia named GEM through a joint venture with Sony Pictures Television Networks, and leading the digital content market through Hulu Japan---a subsidiary that boasts the largest SVOD subscriber base in the country, Nippon TV is steadily solidifying its presence and brand as a global media powerhouse.
