TV broadcaster Channel 5 Broadcasting Ltd has signed an exclusive deal with online gaming company PartyGaming to create a “Five”-branded bingo and casino eGaming service targeting the UK market.
The premium online service will launch in the second half of this year and will be operated by PartyGaming and promoted extensively by terrestrial TV channel Five.
The deal is part of the broadcaster’s strategy to build its digital business and create new revenue streams online.
Five is planning to aggressively expand its presence in digital media, both in terms of its core broadcast content as well as allied offerings. Other projects developed to generate online income at Five include its video-on-demand service, Demand Five, and ad- supported portals such as FiveFWD, which targets young men.
Five’s exclusive deal fills the void left by the end of an agreement that ITV had with PartyGaming to run e-gaming services for brands such as Emmerdale.
This is PartyGaming’s fourth business-to-business deal announced in 2009.
Jim Ryan, chief executive officer of PartyGaming, said the company is confident of securing more B2B deals in the coming months as it matches its “eGaming talents and assets with the consumer reach of other companies around the world”.
