Mentioned in this article
- VENN is a 24/7 post-cable network distributing content surrounding gaming, esports, and entertainment.
- The company has added industry veterans JP Shub, Matt Kirsch, and Dustin D’Addato to its team.
- VENN raised $17M USD in a seed round last September.
The Video Game Entertainment and News Network (VENN) has announced the addition of several seasoned veterans to its team. Co-CEO Ariel Horn’s long-time production partner, Dustin D’Addato, has been to the team, along with JP Shub, a former Riot Games broadcast executive and senior producer for the 2019 League of Legends World Final; and Matt Kirsch, who led Epic’s production of the Fortnite World Cup in NYC.
The company did not provide details on the official job titles of these new “team members” at the time of writing.
“During my years at G4 and Riot Games, I was privileged to lead teams that helped define how broadcasting could speak to a gaming audience,” Shub told The Esports Observer. “I’m thrilled to be joining the team at VENN to create something special for gamers everywhere and can’t wait to share our ideas as we get closer to launch.”
Also, now serving as director, creator partnerships and content for VENN, will be Arya Azar, a founding member of the brand partnerships studio at Twitch, as well as James Lee who will join as senior vice president of real estate and facilities.
“After 16 plus years on the frontline of some of the biggest esports events and also producing thousands of hours of most compelling gaming programming, I couldn’t be more excited to join Ariel and Ben at VENN,” Kirsch commented to The Esports Observer. “We’re taking our learnings from esports and gaming by creating something unbelievably unique – I’ll be sitting in the production seat as we plan our next steps.”
In September, VENN announced it raised $17M in initial seed investments. The network will launch in 2020 with live studios in New York and Los Angeles.
Editor’s note: A representative for VENN has clarified that these new additions are to the “team.” We have adjusted the article accordingly.
