SAN FRANCISCO Turner Broadcasting System said it will join the video game business with a broadband channel called GameTap, set to launch in the fourth quarter.
Adopting the same strategy it used to build Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies, Turner’s plan is to acquire a library of 1,100 video games (of old and newer titles) so gamers can access everything from Pac Man to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. The network currently has deals in place with about 17 game publishers for around 1,000 titles.
“Games will be to the 21st century what movies were the 20th century,” said Blake Lewin, vp of product development for Turner, who created the platform for GameTap.
Sources said Interpublic Group’s Mullen in Wenham, Mass., has been hired to handle marketing chores following a review of undislcosed shops. Both agency and client officials declined comment. The budget was not disclosed.
Come fall, gamers will be able to download software from the Web site Gametap.com to their desktop and access top games that go all the way back to the heyday of the 1980s arcade scene. The cost per subscriber will be $10-20 per month.
There will also be limited sponsorship opportunities for advertisers. Turner declined to elaborate on advertising models, but one possibility of sponsorship could be through the packaging Turner plans to create around the video game content. GameTap will offer hosted segments featuring “making of” and “behind the scenes” clips about the games.
“If we are successful with this, advertisers [will] realize this is a good place to promote new games,” Lewin said.
Lewin and Dennis Quinn, evp of business development, began working on the channel about two years ago after realizing that 40 percent of homes had a gaming console. They further presumed that the high number of consoles meant people were playing games rather than watching TBS and TNT.
“Our [affiliate] programing partners are asking us to produce linear content and video-on-demand product, but a good portion of their business is high-speed applications,” said Quinn. “We are trying to build compelling brands that will flow across all platforms.”
According to Turner’s analysis of market research, the number of broadband-equipped homes will jump 110 percent to 80 million by 2010.
—with David Gianatasio
TBS to Launch Video Game Network
