- After the massive increase in Q2 due to COVID-19, streaming hours continue to thrive in Q3

- Twitch remains the most popular streaming outlet despite increased competition from YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming

- Stream Hatchet co-founder Eduard Montserrat nominated for Digital Executive of the Year in 2020 Tempest Esports Business Awards

TORONTO, Oct. 2, 2020 /CNW/ -- Engine Media's (TSX-V: GAME; OTCQB: MLLLF) gaming live streaming data analytics and analysis experts Stream Hatchet have revealed the latest industry trends in its 2020/Q3 report – showcasing the continued growth of the esports streaming market.

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Stream Hatchet measures gaming live streaming data across all platforms and provides valuable data insight for esports teams, gaming studios, and major brands invested in gaming.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year caused esports streaming numbers to skyrocket in Q2 – reaching 600 million hours watched per week for the first time (a 98 percent improvement compared to last year).

Despite the return of traditional sports programming (including football, baseball, basketball and motorsport) on both television and streaming channels, interest in esports streaming has remained high and continued to earn numbers well above 500 million watched hours per week.

This compares to 2019 which enjoyed steady growth, but averaged 291 million watched hours per week.

Other highlights of the Stream Hatchet Q3 report include:

• Despite suffering a loss of 375 million watched hours per week in Q3 compared to Q2, Twitch remains the "top dog" in esports streaming with a total of 4.7 billion hours (compared to 5.1 billion last quarter).
• YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming continue to grow with Facebook Gaming set for a 200 percent increase (YoY) compared to last year.
• League of Legends remains the most watched game in esports streaming with 543.2 million hours watched in Q3 compared to Fortnite with 426.2 million.
• Stream Hatchet has identified the top esports streamers for Q3 and also investigated the popularity of key celebrity streamers who changed platforms last quarter including DrDisrespect, Ninja and Shroud.
• Popular party game Fall Guys enjoyed massive success in Q3 with live streaming but was quickly overtaken by Among Us in the past three months.

"The latest report from Stream Hatchet again highlights the massive increase enjoyed by esports during the shutdown earlier this year. But rather than it being a blip on the radar, esports streaming has continued to enjoy massive popularity even with the return of regular sports programming," Engine Media's co-CEO, Darren Cox said.

"The numbers remain massively up compared to last year and we believe many new viewers started watching gaming live streams in Q2 and that popularity has continued into Q3. Those new viewers have now discovered the great entertainment value that these streamers are providing."

The Q3 report also takes a look at the most popular female streamers in the esports space with "Valkyrae" taking the top spot.

The continued growth of female participation in the industry was highlighted yesterday by Engine Media's esports streaming and tournament platforms UMG.TV and UMG Gaming. UMG held its first Gamer Safe Place online seminar which featured leading female streamers and industry experts. The online event can be viewed on UMG.TV at umggaming.com/events/game-safe-place.

The nomination of Stream Hatchet's co-founder Eduard Montserrat for Digital Executive of the Year for the 2020 Tempest Esports Business Awards was one of three nominations revealed for Engine Media this week.

UMG's collaboration with FAZE Clan for the Fight2Fund COVID-19 fundraising event earlier this year was nominated in the Best Amateur/Semi-Pro event while Engine Media's groundbreaking World's Fastest Gamer competition and documentary series was nominated in the Esports-themed Program/Documentary (Non-competitive).

World's Fastest Gamer brings together the best esports racing gamers from PC, console and mobile games and has them compete to earn a real-world racing contract. The six-part documentary has been showcased on more than 85+ networks around the world including ESPN in the US.

"We are extremely proud of the nominations for these awards and our congratulations go to Eduard and his team at Stream Hatchet, everyone involved in the UMG/Faze Clan collaboration, and the amazing World's Fastest Gamer competition," Engine Media executive chairman, Tom Rogers said.

"This insightful data and insights from Stream Hatchet not only provide Engine Media with valuable industry intelligence for us as we grow our businesses but Stream Hatchet has also become a key partner for esports teams, sponsors, studios and organizations around the world."

The creation of Engine Media Inc. was confirmed in May when Torque Esports Corp. (TSX-V: GAME) (OTCQB: MLLLF) completed its acquisition of Frankly Inc. (TSX-V: TLK) (OTCQX: FRNKF) ("Frankly"), and WinView, Inc. ("WinView") – placing Engine Media at the forefront of esports, gaming, news streaming and sports gaming across multiple media platforms.

To date, the combined companies have clients comprised of more than 1,200 television, print, and radio brands including CNN, ESPN, Discovery / Eurosport, Fox, Vice, Newsweek, and Cumulus; dozens of gaming and technology companies including EA, Activision, Blizzard, Take2Interactive, Microsoft, Google, Twitch and Ubisoft; and have connectivity into hundreds of millions of homes around the world through their content, distribution, and platform.

About Engine Media Holdings, Inc.

Engine Media is focused on accelerating new, live, immersive esports and interactive gaming experiences for consumers through its partnerships with traditional and emerging media companies. The company was formed through the combination of Torque Esports Corp., Frankly Inc., and WinView, Inc. and trades publicly under the ticker symbol (TSX-V: GAME) (OTCQB: MLLLF).  Engine Media will generate revenue through a combination of: direct-to-consumer and subscription fees; streaming technology and data SaaS-based offerings; programmatic advertising and sponsorships; as well as intellectual property licensing fees.  To date, the combined companies have clients comprised of more than 1,200 television, print and radio brands including CNN, ESPN, Discovery / Eurosport, Fox, Vice, Newsweek and Cumulus; dozens of gaming and technology companies including EA, Activision, Blizzard, Take2Interactive, Microsoft, Google, Twitch and Ubisoft; and have connectivity into hundreds of millions of homes around the world through their content, distribution and technology.

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Engine to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved.  Forward-looking information contained in this news release include, but are not limited to, any regulatory or other approvals required in connection therewith and Engine's expectations for growth in its operations and business. In respect of the forward-looking information contained herein, Engine has provided such statements and information in reliance on certain assumptions that management believed to be reasonable at the time, including assumptions as to obtaining required regulatory approvals. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements stated herein to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks.  Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information contained in this news release.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Engine does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf, except as required by applicable law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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SOURCE Engine Media Holdings, Inc.

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