©World Chase Tag™ 2021
NEW YORK, NY (December 3rd, 2021) – World Chase Tag® USA(WCT), the world’s first and only global competitive tag organization, will televise its 2021 United Kingdom Championship on ESPN starting Sunday, December 5th, 2021. The premiere airs at 9 pm EST on ESPN2. Additional air dates include December 12th and December 19th at 10 pm EST.
The UK Championship was held inside London’s iconic boxing venue, York Hall. Eight of the top UK teams battled it out, including some of the best Parkour prodigies and Ninja Warrior athletes in the world, like Marrero Gang, Team Phat, Breach and UGen. The top teams automatically qualify for the WCT5 World Championship that will be held in June2022. Participating sponsors for the event include Energice and GuaranteedRate.
Earlier this year, WCT announced a multi-year agreement with ESPN to distributeWCT programming across ESPN television and digital platforms. ESPN and ESPN2will be the primary television network homes of WCT in addition to distribution through ESPN digital properties.
WCT features the world’s premier parkour and Ninja Warrior athletes competing at the highest level. “WCT is now gaining an audience and following worldwide,” said Tupelo Honey CEO Cary Glotzer. “Recent successful events in the UK, China, France, Belgium and Holland and now the 2021 UK Championship event showcases how entertaining and exciting action on the Quad can be for the ESPN audience and platforms.”Tupelo Honey and its parent company, Gray Television, are partners and investors in WCT.
Sébastien Foucan, ParkourPioneer & Founder of The Foucan Academy, said, “The UK Championship featured all the recognized teams we love to see and included some very exciting younger teams.The atmosphere was electrifying and the world championship in June is going to be spectacular!”
“We’re excited about the continued growth of World Chase Tag and the unique opportunities it provides sponsors looking to engage with an incredibly passionate fan base,” said Bill Lancaster, SVP of Gray Sports and EntertainmentSales.
WCT and production partnerTupelo Honey are also announcing tournaments for 2022 on ESPN platforms. WCT5World Championship will be held in London June 2022 with 10 hours of streaming on ESPN digital platforms. Plans for Q3 include the Pan-American Championship in the U.S. and the European Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Championship inEurope. WCT6 (World Championship) will take place in the fourth quarter in either the U.S. or the UK.
In addition to the ESPN telecasts, WCT is distributed online to an engaged social following, with 2M subscribers on social platforms including YouTube,Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and Bilibili (China).
ABOUT WORLD CHASE TAG®
World Chase Tag® (WCT) combines the dynamic athleticism of Parkour with the age-old game of Tag. Invented by brothersChristian and Damien Devaux in their backyard in the U.K., the competition began in 2016 and has quickly built a cult following around the world, securing millions of online views.
World Chase Tag® is the ultimate test of1-on-1 pursuit, fought out on an unforgiving arena of steel & wood, between athletes displaying extraordinary speed & agility as they juke, leap &lunge to make a point-saving tag.8 teams from all across the country (featuring several world champion parkour athletes, stuntmen and Ninja Warrior finalists) compete in a winner-takes-all knockout battle to take home the World Chase Tag® UK Championship trophy.
WCT has amassed a global following including 80 WCT related videos with more than 1 million views and 50 million organic views in the last 12 months across World Chase Tag®’s social media platforms.
ABOUT ESPN
ESPN, Inc., is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment brand, featuring an unmatched portfolio of sports assets. It is comprised of eight U.S. 24-hour television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, LonghornNetwork, SEC Network and the ACC Network; five with HD simulcast services – ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS andESPN Deportes). Other businesses include direct-to-consumer video service ESPN+, ESPN Audio (broadcast, satellite, digital, podcasts), an array of digital services (ESPN.com and many other sites, ESPN App, fantasy games and more), multi-screen ESPN3, ESPN International (26 networks, syndication, radio, digital), consumer products, ESPN Events and espnW. Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Hearst holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.
ABOUT TUPELO HONEY
TupeloHoney produces and packages over 800 live sports and entertainment shows per year. It produces coverage of sporting events involving the PFL (ProfessionalFighters League), NFL, MLS, TBT (The Basketball Tournament), ACL (American Cornhole League), College Football, College Basketball, NBC Sports, ESPN, CBSSports, Turner Sports, NFL Network, ACC Network, SEC Network, and more. In addition, Tupelo creates, develops and produces original programming for national syndication, including live music concerts for Twitter, YouTube,Facebook and other digital platforms.
Tupelo is wholly owned by Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE: GTN), the second largest television broadcast company in the country. Gray also owns production companies Raycom Sports and RTM Studios, is the majority owner of Swirl Films, and an investor in Atlanta Film Studios.
Contacts:
World Chase Tag®
Christian Devaux, Christian@worldchasetag.com
ESPN
Kimberly Elchlepp, Kimberly.m.elchlepp@espn.com
Tupelo Honey & World Chase Tag®
Cary I. Glotzer, Cary@tupelohoney.net
Gray Sports and Entertainment Sales
Bill Lancaster, blancaster@raycomsports.com