A trio of UK and Ireland esports organisations have partnered with video platform Recast which connects rights holders, fans and brands.
UK esports organisations LDN UTD and Viperio have joined the platform, as have Irish org Katana Gaming. They’re also joined by Dutch org and FIFA academy Team Gullit, which is owned by football legend Ruud Gullit, and the four newcomers join JLingz Esports, which launched a Recast channel last year.
Recast lets users watch sports from a mobile device and earn in-app credits called ‘Casts’ – for both viewers and rights holders – through microtransactions.
Rights holders, like esports orgs, can monetise content from 10-second clips to full live games. Fans can then earn credits by watching adverts or purchasing them, and make micropayments directly to rights holders to watch the sports/esports they want. Rights holders can then cash out these credits.
Fans will be able to view tournament broadcasts, behind-the-scenes interviews, tutorials and more.
Recast’s proposition means the business does not purchase any sports rights, following other exchange models such as Airbnb and Uber in not owning supply, but ‘generating value through connection’.
Andy Meikle, Founder and CEO, Recast, said: “We are delighted to welcome these forward-thinking esports teams, who have some of the brightest names in the sport, to Recast, to bring fans closer to the content they want.
“We are already seeing great success for our esports partners, and are committed to ensuring this only increases. We are thrilled that each of the teams trusts us to help them capitalise on the potential of the fast-growing esports industry when combined with a solution like ours.”
Christopher Sword, founder and MD at Viperio, said: “Viperio is delighted to team up with Recast to enhance our digital content strategy moving into 2022. Joining a growing list of high-profile brands, we are excited to be an adopter of Recast as we look to level up our in-house media.
“With all revenue reinvested back into our teams, our followers can directly support their favourite players by simply consuming our content.”
“We are already seeing great success for our esports partners, and are committed to ensuring this only increases. We are thrilled that each of the teams trusts us to help them capitalise on the potential of the fast-growing esports industry when combined with a solution like ours.”
Andy Meikle, Recast
Renzo Oemrawsingh, head of talent development at Team Gullit, added: “At Team Gullit, we aim to provide educational content for everyone who loves to play FIFA. From beginner to professional players, we always try to inspire and educate players in becoming the best version of themselves in the game. We are excited to publish top-tier exclusive educational FIFA content for the Recast community.”
Joe Creasey, head of content at LDN UTD, commented: “At LDN UTD, we are always looking for innovative ways to push our creators and social values out to a wider audience and, with the new tech Recast has created and their foray into promoting esports, alongside the credibility of the founding team, it was a no-brainer for LDN UTD to host some exclusive content on Recast. We look forward to an engaging partnership.”
Jacques Heffernan, CEO of Katana Gaming, said: “Katana is pleased to join Recast. This move will allow us to propel our digital strategy and is sure to excite fans by bringing more of the very best of our content to them in a simple, accessible and affordable way. We look forward to showcasing our teams and bringing their successes to life on the platform, while allowing fans to directly support their favourite teams through the Recast model.
“Katana is relishing bringing the total package, providing content, streaming and our exclusive podcast, only available on Recast.”
There’s more info on the Recast website at www.recast.app.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
