MediaCentral Begins Beta Launch of ECentralSports.com Capitalizing on the Global eSports Phenomenon

MediaCentral leverages its existing audience of 6.5 million influencers to launch new publishing platform for all things eGaming  

TORONTO, April 21, 2020 /CNW/ - Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT) ("MediaCentral" or the "Company") announces the beta-launch of its newest platform, ECentralSports.com ("ECentralSports"). ECentralSports will be a dynamic digital destination for eGaming and eSports ("Gaming") fans in search of the latest in news, information and culture. Leveraging NOW Magazine ("NOW") and Georgia Straight ("the Straight"), the Company's central publications, ECentralSports will enter the market with access to 6.5 million of the most coveted consumers and the support of award-winning editors, writers and directors.

ECentralSports will tap into a global market with extensive reach. In its fall 2019 global games market report, Newzoo estimated the current Gaming market to be US$148.8 billion. They also reported that eSports alone reached 454M viewers worldwide in 2019 with growth projected to 645M by 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused Gaming to experience exponential growth. People are at home with no live-action sports to engage with and are increasingly turning to Gaming for entertainment.  An April 2020 article in AdWeek stated: "gaming has exploded like never before [and has] become the new social currency and a cultural force." According to the same article, the telecoms giant Verizon released information demonstrating U.S. video game usage during peak hours has increased by 75 per cent since the global lock-down first went into effect, and that Gaming as an industry is larger than the NFL, NBA, MLB and the NHL combined.

The explosive industry has already garnered the attention of top brands, with Louis Vuitton, Nike, Coca-Cola and BMW all sponsoring eSports tournaments. The financial community has also taken notice of the global Gaming phenomenon. In April 2019, Deloitte released a report on eSports financing that indicated US$4.5B was invested in the industry in 2018 alone. High profile investments have also targeted the disruptive industry such as the recently announced investment into FaZe Clan, a leading eSports organization, by the iconic entertainment entrepreneur Jimmy Iovine (Chairman of Interscope-Geffen-A&M; co-founder of Beats Electronics).

"We are absolutely thrilled to announce the beta-launch of our Gaming publication, ECentralSports.com. The audience psychographics of eSports and gaming enthusiasts directly aligns with our existing audience of 6.5 million market and cultural pace setters," said Brian Kalish, CEO of MediaCentral. "ECentralSports will acquire and scale traffic by leveraging readership from our current high-performing titles, opening up immediate opportunities to monetize the new channel through an integrated editorial, display advertising, affiliate marketing and omnichannel sponsored content strategy, designed to benefit our advertising partners."

MediaCentral has already begun testing Esports content on both NOW and the Straight with positive traction. The data shows a 37 per cent increase of users' session length on eSports content, a 10.5 per cent improved click-through on newsletters containing eSports content and 8.5 per cent above average pageviews for eSports content. This illustrates the existence of a fanbase who will readily covert to ECentralSports.com once launched. The integration of content between NOW and the Straight will continue when ECentralSports.com is live, providing further opportunity for organic audience growth. 

ECentralSports is the second original digital platform from MediaCentral, following the 2019 fall launch of Canncentral.com, a digital cannabis lifestyle publication.  This marks the continuation of the company's planned strategy to produce and acquire existing high-quality publications across North America to consolidate, digitize and monetize an audience of over 100 million of North America's most influential readers. MediaCentral will provide these coveted readers with access to on-trend, relevant and authentic news and content across all its titles.

ECentralSports is slated to go live in May 2020. 

About Media Central Corporation Inc.
Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT) is an alternative media company situated to acquire and develop high-quality publishing assets starting with the recent acquisition of Vancouver Free Press Corp., the purchase of NOW Communications Inc. and the launch of digital cannabis platform CannCentral.com. MediaCentral is consolidating and digitally monetizing the over 100 million coveted and premium consumers of the approximately 100 alternative urban publications across North America, creating the most powerful audience of influencers.
www.mediacentralcorp.com
Instagram: @mediacentralcorp
Twitter: @mediacentralc
Facebook: Media Central Corp.

About Vancouver Free Press Corp.,
Vancouver Free Press Corp., owns and operates Georgia Straight and straight.com. Established in 1967 as the news, lifestyle, and entertainment weekly in Vancouver, the Georgia Straight has been an integral part of the active urban West Coast lifestyle for over 50 years. Reaching over 56 million annual readers, every Thursday in print, and every day at straight.com, Georgia Straight delivers an award-winning editorial package of features, articles, and reviews. Regular coverage includes news, tech, arts, music, fashion, travel, health, cannabis, and food, plus Vancouver's most comprehensive listings of entertainment activities and special events. Vancouver Free Press Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT).
www.straight.com
Instagram: @georgiastraight
Twitter: @georgiastraight
Facebook: @georgiastraight                                                                                          

About NOW Central Communications Inc.
NOW Central owns and operates NOW Magazine and nowtoronto.com. Since 1981 NOW has been Toronto's news and entertainment voice, published in print every Thursday, and daily at nowtoronto.com.  Reaching over 25 million annual readers, NOW has been a leading publication, defining and pioneering the independent and alternative voice for more than 38 years.  NOW Central Communications Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT).
www.nowtoronto.com
Instagram: @nowtoronto
Twitter: @nowtoronto
Facebook: facebook.com/nowmagazine

About Canncentral Inc.
With unique daily content apprealing to both new and experienced cannabis consumers, Canncentral is poised to become the leading digital publisher of all things cannabis. Presenting authenthic news and lifestyle content through a verified lens, Canncentral is emerging as an industry leading authority on knowledge, product and insight for cannabis enthusiasts, patients and investors around the world.  Canncentral Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Central Corporation Inc. (CSE: FLYY, FSE: 3AT).
www.canncentral.com
Instagram: @canncentral
Twitter: @cann_central
Facebook: @canncentral

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "expect", "potential", "believe", "intend" or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to internal expectations, expectations with respect to estimated margins, cost structures, and cost structures in the media industry. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions; adverse industry events; marketing costs; loss of markets; future legislative and regulatory developments involving; inability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the media industry generally, income tax and regulatory matters; the ability of MediaCentral to implement its business strategies; competition; currency and interest rate fluctuations and other risks.

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SOURCE Media Central Corporation Inc.

Investor Relations: [email protected]; Media: Faulhaber Communications, Lexi Pathak, [email protected], www.mediacentralcorp.com