IGN teams up with TV firm for new Start

Tomorrow will see the launch of Start, a new YouTube games channel by IGN Entertainment and TV producers Shine Group.

Start will be produced and curated by IGN, and will kick off with five new weekly shows that have been put together with the help of Shine’s Reveille Productions, the firm behind The Biggest Loser, Masterchef and The Office US.

Programmes will include: The Next Game Boss, a competition between games developers; geek culture talk show Up at Noon with Greg Miller; Cheap, Crazy, Cool, a show that looks at the various accessories and gadgets available; Mix’d Review, a review aggregator site comparing scores for the newest releases; and Maternal Combat, a game show where avid gamers’ relatives decide the outcome.

Sega has signed up as commercial partner for Start’s launch in a deal that will run throughout February.

"We’re delighted to be working with Shine to develop Start into a must-visit destination for games," said IGN Entertainment’s international VP Ian Chambers.

"Games are increasingly one of the world’s most popular forms of entertainment, and Start is the perfect opportunity to create a channel born in the exciting world of video games and the culture that surrounds it."

Start launches at www.youtube.com/start on Tuesday, January 31st. It will also incorporate existing IGN video content.