IMG Media launches EDGEsport channel in Asia

IMG Media, part of IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, has launched EDGEsport, the first-ever 24-hour premium action sport channel, to the Asian market. Aimed at active and athletic urban young adults, the channel will feature top action from key sports disciplines such as surfing, snowboarding, BMX, mountain biking, skateboarding, Supercross, skiing, base jumping, freestyle motocross and wakeboarding. In addition, there will be films, documentaries, athletic profiles and biographies, lifestyle programming and magazine shows – all in HD. Adam Kelly, marketing director for IMG Media, said: “We are investing in action sports as we see the long term potential in this area. Our belief is that with the right approach and development this content will deliver the audiences of tomorrow for sports channels and platforms around the world.  EDGEsport will help deliver the exposure needed for our clients to develop their distribution initially in Asia and then in the rest of the world.” Graham Fry, managing director of sports production worldwide for IMG Media, said: “Action sports already has a young dedicated following and we see huge growth potential in this genre so we are delighted to be offering this 24-hour channel. It’s also an exciting new challenge for our team based in Singapore who are responsible for the output.” IMG Media is producing the programming and distributing the channel globally and has already secured deals in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia with others in different stages of negotiation. The channel is being broadcast across various pay-TV cable, satellite and IPTV platforms. EDGEsport will have over 700 hours of content from launch and will show major events such as the World Snowboarding Championships, ASP World Surfing Tour, BMX Supercross World Cup Series and H2O racing. Other top events will be added to the channel throughout the year and the programming also has the ability to be simulcast digitally online and to mobile.