Launching nationwide on July 13th, the interactive livestreaming game show, “Gaming Under the Influence,” (GUI) comes to big-screen TVs in bars across the country, joining the new digital RDY Network.
GUI is the brainchild of Jared Hoffa, (former ABC 7 Chicago) Windy City Live [WCL] producer/editor, who has joined forces with TV veterans, Cindy Patrasso (former WCL Supervising Producer) and Mary Kathryn (MK) Seipke, former Harpo executive. The three serve as partners in RDY Network, Inc. and are Executive Producers of “Gaming Under the Influence” (GUI).
The weekly show will originate from the popular Chicago arcade bar, REPLAY Lincoln Park, and will livestream across the new RDY Network of arcade and sports bars in top U.S. markets.
GUI’s breakthrough proprietary “Pingd”™ device automatically switches connected TVs in the RDY Network to the show, when GUI goes live every Friday night at 9PM CST. In addition to sending the livestream to TVs in the network, the proprietary technology also has the unique ability to program custom content for its affiliated bars.
Hoffa, who also developed the technology, is the show’s host. Popular gamer/influencer, Kevin Fair, calls the play-by-play, with WSHE Radio host and former “Good Day Chicago” traffic reporter, Jenny Milkowski, manning the “Hotbox”™ voting and social media engagement during the show. Contestants will range from social media influencers and celebrities to bar patrons and arcade/video game fans.
The show is wild and gritty, and taps into the massive gamer audience and the burgeoning arcade bar crowd. GUI pits two contestants against one other, playing video games in a cage-match setting, with the audience “influencing” the outcome. Viewers in the bar, at home or wherever they watch online and on their phones at guishow.tv can vote in real time via GUI’S “Hotbox”™ technology. The audience has a variety of options to distract a player of choice—should they be blindfolded, play with their controllers behind their back or feel the wrath of an obstacle dropped on them from above! Advertisers will also utilize the voting tool for LIVE feedback and to conduct real-time brand surveys.
Cindy Patrasso stated the following:
“This is the first demographic in recorded history that doesn’t watch television. We’re taking the content this audience wants and delivering it right where they live. Arcade bars are among the hottest growing entertainment sources right now and our technology connects it all together: the audience, the bars and the advertiser. We also anticipate growth and audience loyalty, with influencer contestants, given the massive retention of their followers. It’s a plus-plus.”
Prizes for online viewers, bar patrons and GUI winners will range from trips to cash to random surprises from participating brands each week. Plans are also underway for a bracketed tournament competition among GUI winners, culminating in a live event in Las Vegas.
MK Seipke said the following:
“Targeted livestreaming content is where it’s at right now. Living through the Oprah phenomenon, I saw first-hand, history unfold for a massive global audience. What we have in GUI is the future for the next generation of digital consumers. We have something brands and livestream channels have been longing to embrace, with GUI’s technology taking us there and it’s pure entertainment!”
The show is on tap to revolutionize the way brands and audiences connect to online game play. The creation of Esports leagues for hardcore gamers has left a massive number of casual gamers out of the mix, and advertisers scratching their heads trying to figure out how to capitalize on the behemoth populist audience of people who play games.
Jared Hoffa had the following to say:
“Esports to the mainstream audience isn’t sexy. GUI changes that. As the tech fuels the show, the audience ignites it. You’re not just watching someone play a video game in their apartment. You’re now a part of the movement. With the “Pingd”™ device, bars across the country are part of an exclusive network we’ve designed. Advertisers love it because they can be part of a show that gets instant feedback from the audience.”
Arcade and Sports bars connected to the new RDY Network are: BREWCADE (San Francisco); BREWSKI’S BAR & ARCADE (San Diego); RECESS ARCADE BAR (Austin, TX); BIT BAR SALEM (Boston); 16-BIT & ARCADE (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati); START BAR (St. Louis); STONE PIN COMPANY & KILPATRICK’S PUBLIC HOUSE (Greenville, SC); PROSPECT SPORTS BAR (Little Rock, AK); SHELTER ARCADE BAR (Providence, RI); COIN OP ARCADE (Chattanooga, TN); STAR PORT ARCADE & PUB (Morgantown, WV), to date.
Next steps for GUI include taking the show to targeted venues; digital events such as Comic Con, E3, PSX; and licensing the show to livestreaming channels, CRACKLE, HULU, Amazon and others, with whom the three are in ongoing conversations.
