Rock Entertainment and Kiswe Partner to Localize Esports Tournaments in Asia-Pacific (APAC)

Partnership brings popular esports tournament 2021 VALORANT Champions Tour to APAC audience

NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J., June 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kiswe, the global interactive video company, and Rock Entertainment Holdings announced a collaboration to easily and cost-effectively localize the world’s biggest esports tournaments for broadcast in the APAC region. The partnership will enable Rock Entertainment to bring esports content from around the world and make it specific to APAC, creating fully immersive, customized gaming experiences for players and fans in their native language.

As part of the collaboration, Kiswe Studio localized popular esport tournament 2021 VALORANT Champions Tour Stage 1 and 2 – Challengers Hong Kong/ Taiwan for Rock Entertainment and then streamed onto their linear channel “Blue Ant Extreme” in March and April 2021. Viewers can also look out for 2021 VALORANT Champions Tour Stage 3 Finals – Challengers Hong Kong/ Taiwan LIVE in July 2021, as well as other upcoming esport matches.

The esports industry is forecasted to reach $1.5B for 2023. Yet despite being virtual, many tournaments are currently being produced with commentary, graphics, and video that cater only to local markets, missing a huge opportunity to extend their reach and monetize much broader audiences. Kiswe Studio empowers event organizers to create and scale personalized content anywhere and in any language.

The partnership will allow esports producers and casters to work remotely, eliminating travel and equipment costs and risks associated with onsite production, and creating new opportunities to offer premium content and competitions and grow diverse audiences. Networks will also have the ability to cost-effectively localize games, tap new markets for innovative content, and open up new monetization avenues. Gamers can look forward to watching and interacting with bespoke, top-tier competitive gaming content from around the world in their own native languages.

“We are excited to be working with Kiswe to bring Valorant and other live and localized esports broadcasts to our viewers across Asia,” said Beatrice Lee, CEO Asia Pacific, Rock Entertainment Holdings. “This partnership is about delivering the content our esports fans love in a personalized and inclusive way.”

“The globalization of exports also necessitates its localization and simple translation is not enough,” said Kiswe CEO, Mike Schabel. “Kiswe Studio can adapt esports games from anywhere so that even the most subtle cultural nuances are captured for any region, delivering the most enjoyable gaming experiences.”

About Kiswe
Kiswe is an interactive video company that creates real-time live streams to engage digital audiences and unique communities around the world. Kiswe’s award-winning technology also unlocks ways for people to stay connected over live events through a content creation and mobile platform that bridges media companies with consumers. Kiswe is headquartered in New Jersey, USA and has offices in New York, Seoul, Belgium, and Singapore. Learn more at www.kiswe.com.

About Rock Entertainment:
Rock Entertainment distributes content on a branded and unbranded basis across the globe. Offerings include natural history, factual, entertainment, short-form digital and pre-school kids programming that engage audiences worldwide through multiple platforms, including television, digital, OTT and live events. Rock Entertainment’s channel business offers a portfolio of media brands such as Love Nature 4K, ZooMoo Networks (International), Smithsonian Channel (Asia, Middle East & Africa + Turkey), Blue Ant Entertainment (Asia), Blue Ant Extreme (Asia) and Makeful (Asia), with a catalogue of 2,000+ hours of content, including the largest 4K natural history offering on the market.

About Blue Ant Extreme:
Blue Ant Extreme is a channel fully dedicated to extreme content. Audiences can expect adrenaline-pumping, exclusive content across a variety of genres, including extreme sports, reality, paranormal, gaming and adventure. Spine thrilling series include Paranormal Survivor and My Worst Nightmare; extreme adventure content with Spy Games, Ninja Warrior UK and Conquering Northern China; and exciting gaming action from celebrated digital brands, Arcade Cloud and Wisecrack.

Cassady Nordeen
Purpose Worldwide
Cassady@purposenorthamerica.com
(718) 644-0273