Vision Venture Partners Launches Vision Entertainment, a New Production Company Combining VVP’s Industry-Leading Esports and Video Gaming Content with the Broad Library and Production Services Capability of HDFilms
Vision Venture Partners (VVP), a private equity firm that combines decades of business success and value creation from the high tech, video game professional and lifestyle industries has announced the formation of Vision Entertainment, an original content creator and production studio delivering innovative scripted and unscripted TV, Film, Live Event and Online projects.
Vision Entertainment has already developed and produced seven original content esports shows currently airing on Facebook Live. Additionally, VE is collaborating with Facebook Live to stream esports performances featuring many of the professional athletes competing for VVP’s Echo Fox esports organization.
This major move is expected to increase the esports audience beyond the hardcore gamers who currently consume esports content on other platforms. “Facebook views esports as a growing video content area on our platform so we’re thrilled about the opportunity to work with Vision Entertainment and Echo Fox,” said Patrick Chapman, from gaming and esports partnerships at Facebook.
VE is also bringing esports to the national broadcast stage this week in a partnership with the CW. On April 20th, the CW airs the televised “H1Z1: Fight for the Crown” competition twice (at 6 and 9 PM PT). The competition will pit 15 esports teams, including the Echo Fox pro H1Z1 team, against each other in a “last man or woman standing format” for a share of a $300,000 prize pool. Each team competing had to be certified through VVP-owned Twin Galaxies, the video game industry’s long time equivalent of the Guinness Book of World Records. The CW also created a five-part documentary series based around Echo Fox’s team selection process and preparation for the competition.
“We’re excited to launch Vision Entertainment by showcasing these CW and Facebook Live collaborations,” said Stratton Sclavos, a VVP founding partner and former CEO of security and internet services company Verisign. “Working with these companies will help VE in its mission to bring innovative and immersive original content to the rapidly growing “Generation Always” audience who are always connected, always social, always mobile, always interacting and always aware.”
VE’s Generation Always orientation is not age-specific, added Jace Hall, a VVP partner and gaming industry legend who has designed and published many successful game titles. “A really tired misnomer about gamers is that most age out of playing,” he said. “We’ve found a large audience of gamers who stay engaged as players and esports fans and we’re targeting them all,” said Hall, the former executive vice president and general manager of Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment.
Hall has been deeply involved in creating digital entertainment content at HDFilms, alongside Kristin Holt president of production and development at Vision Entertainment. Their prolific team imagines, develops, produces, edits, and delivers scripted/unscripted content for video gaming, esports, comedy and other entertainment segments. Holt and Hall have created more than 50 programs through HDFilms including the popular ABC TV Series “V” and Hulu’s first original program “The Morning After.”
The newly-launched VE operates from a nearly 30,000 square-foot Beverly Hills office featuring 75 private office suites, three production studios and an esports training facility. The headquarters, also home for VVP, is built to grow and will enable VE to continue creating original content for esports and other entertainment categories targeted at live broadcast, video-on-demand and online distribution.
With a rapidly expanding content slate, VE is in active discussions with media agencies and well known brands looking to sponsor and advertise on one or more VE projects. As part of the CW “H1Z1: Fight For the Crown” broadcast, VE is partnering with ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) which will have a major branding presence throughout the broadcast. HDFilms has previously created entertainment content for a wide array of clients including Amazon, Daybreak, FX, Hulu, HyperX, IGN, Sony, Twitch and Warner Brothers.
The Facebook Live shows, all developed and produced in-house, are “Game Talk Live,” https://www.facebook.com/GameTalkLive/ “Tauntfest,” https://www.facebook.com/pg/tauntfest/posts/?ref=page_internal; “Happy Hour,”
Dragon’s & Stuff,“Cos-Play with Alicia Marie,” “Settle It on the Screen,” and “Best of The Jace Hall Show” Seasons 1-5.
For more information, see: www.visionentertainment.us
