Fnatic’s equal opportunity Fnatic Network is fostering new streaming talent, more than doubling their viewership in the past year

• Fnatic Network celebrates successful first year as programme participants see average CCU growth rise by 56%

• UK’s top esports org leads the industry’s diversity and inclusion efforts after achieving a 50/50 gender split across Fnatic Network participants

• Fnatic Network provides education and tools for up-and-coming content creators to help boost their performance through a career progression programme that can help them secure a contract with the organization

Fnatic, the London-based global esports performance brand, is doubling down on its efforts to champion diversity among its content creators after successfully managing a 50/50 gender split in its grassroots programme, Fnatic Network.

The multinational esports organisation revealed new stats that show a booming first year for their content creator programme, with over 50 participants experiencing a major boost in their average stream viewership. New data also showed that:

• Creators involved in the programme saw an average increase of 150% in their Twitch following since the programme’s inception

• The entire Fnatic Network’s collective follow count increased by 80 times

• Fnatic Network now boasts an impressive total social reach of over 6,900,000 across their entire talent pool.

Launched in April 2020, Fnatic Network offers budding and full-time content creators the opportunity to elevate their streaming capabilities. Starting July 2021 Fnatic Network will offer diverse brand building workshops, monthly Q&A sessions with Fnatic staff and coaches, as well as inclusion in Fnatic and partner campaigns (previous campaigns included brands such as Monster Energy and AMD).

Those who reach Fnatic Network’s Gold Tier, may be invited to join the Platinum Programme, a six-month accelerator programme with an emphasis on education and performance development. Platinum creators also receive a monthly salary and a chance to be signed as a Fnatic content creator at the end of the programme.

Fnatic Network alumni includes Twitch superstars Moonryde and Rhobalas, with Moonryde’s experience proving to be a success story. When he joined Fnatic Network, Moonryde averaged between 800 viewers per stream. However, since joining the programme and subsequently joining the main Fnatic roster, his average viewership has exploded to 6,000 per stream, with the Warzone player’s CCU peaking at just over 82,000 earlier this year.

Soraya Sobh, Head of Creator Management, wants to see more diversity in the esports industry  and is hoping the progress made within the Fnatic Network can be replicated across the industry:

“Our ambitions for the esports and gaming industry is to see a more diverse and inclusive audience on and off the screen. I believe this change must start from within, and education and development are key to creating this change. A key goal of Fnatic Network is to seek out and level up the very best talent regardless of gender, race or ethnicity and give them equal opportunity to succeed.”

“Whilst Fnatic is only at the start of this journey, we want to make a difference at every level of the creator pool. If we can’t find enough creators at a top tier level which represent as diverse an audience as we know gaming attracts, then we have to build those talents from the ground up.”

“Our message to underrepresented, up and coming talent is clear: your career starts at Fnatic. Regardless of where creators end up, we’re here to give them the tools, training and development they need to succeed. We want to provide opportunities which in turn make the industry a more diverse and better represented place.”