Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV) has announced that it has madeJCG Corporation, an e-sports online competition platform provider, a subsidiary. NTV aims to accelerate business expansion by entering into full-scale planning and operation of e-sports tournaments and events, and by combining its strengths in various sports tournaments and their broadcasts.
Nittele Makes JCG a Subsidiary
On Tuesday, September 5, 2023, Nittele announced the acquisition of JCG Co.
Nittele has been in the e-sports business since 2018. NTV has been actively developing its business by broadcasting the e-sports program "eGG" and co-hosting the "Pokémon Unite Koshien" tournament for high school students with Pokémon Co. In addition, the company operates a professional e-sports team, AXIZ, through its e-sports subsidiary, AX Entertainment Inc. At the time of writing, the League of Legends, Shadowverse, and Fifth Personality divisions are active.
JCG Inc. operates Japan 's largest e-sports tournament platform, " JCG," and also uses the platform to host official community events such as the "Pokémon UNITE Challenge DAY" and the "JCG Shadowverse Open" and other official community tournaments.
High-quality e-sports tournaments and events to be held even more than before
As one of the largest e-sports providers in Japan, JCG Inc. has a track record of hosting more than 1,000 e-sports tournaments per year, and has expertise in game competitions and a live broadcasting studio. By combining the strengths that Nittele has cultivated through various sports tournaments and broadcasts, the company aims to realize even higher quality e-sports tournaments and events than before.
eSports is set to become the first official medal sport at the 19th Asian Games to be held from September 2023, and will continue to be the official medal sport at the 20th Asian Games to be held in Aichi Prefecture in 2026. Nittele is expected to play a leading role in the e-sports market from both the provider and media perspectives, which is expected to grow in the future.
Comment from Mr. Akira Ishizawa, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nittele
PR TIMESOne of the pillars of NTV Group's "Medium-Term Management Plan 2022-2024" is to "accelerate the creation of new businesses," and we are actively working to establish new businesses through internal incubation and investment in new business areas. We have been working on e-sports since the establishment of our competitive team in 2018, and we have high expectations for its further acceleration with the participation of JCG. We will continue to be actively involved in the development of new content businesses for the digital generation that are not bound by the existing framework of TV broadcasting, as exemplified by e-sports.
Comment from Daisuke Kobayashi, President Office, New Business Department, Nittele (to be appointed Chairman of the Board, JCG)
PR TIMESWe are very pleased to be working with JCG, a long-established and leading company in e-sports tournament management. By combining JCG's track record and expertise in handling numerous e-sports tournaments and its unique strengths in tournament systems and studios with NTV's media power and content production capabilities, we will be able to accelerate the expansion of e-sports activities undertaken by the NTV group. Through this initiative, we will strive to create e-sports that will deliver excitement and excitement to e-sports fans not only in Japan but around the world.
Comments from Junichi Matsumoto, CEO of JCG Co.
PR TIMESI am excited to take this new step toward the future of e-sports as a member of the Nippon Television Group, and I feel a strong sense of responsibility. Since the start of our business in 2013, JCG has been committed to the philosophy of providing a place where e-sports fans can continue to enjoy themselves, and we have worked to lay the groundwork by training e-sports staff, developing a tournament management system and distribution studio, while holding over 1,000 e-sports tournaments/events per year. Through the synergy between these strengths of JCG and the media capabilities of the NTV group, we will further accelerate the growth of the e-sports business and the development of new services to provide even more excitement and joy to our fans and community.