Turner Broadcasting System Inc. sponsors UK premier video games design competition – Dare to be Digital

Dare is the UK’s premier competition for young computer games designers, attracting students and recent graduates from all over the world in 2007.

Turner Broadcasting System Inc, owners of major news network CNN and part of the Time Warner group, is the first new sponsor to be announced for Dare 2008.

The company’s sponsorship comes soon after confirmation that the University of Abertay Dundee, originators and promoters of Dare, would continue and increase its support for the competition this year.

Paul Durrant, Director of Dare to be Digital, welcomed Turner Broadcasting System Inc. as the first new sponsor for 2008, saying: “We are absolutely delighted to be partnering with TBS this year.

“Their support is a huge boost to our plans to raise £1 million to support Dare to be Digital for the next two years, and a measure of how seriously the contest is now regarded by major creative and media businesses around the planet.

“We plan to greatly increase the scope of this year’s competition, with almost twice as many students as in 2007, taking part in several host centres across the UK and perhaps even overseas as well.”

Turner Broadcasting System Inc. is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.

Casey Harwood, Senior Vice President for Digital Media at Turner Broadcasting System Europe said, “We’re delighted to support ‘Dare to be Digital’ and any initiative that fosters talent and diversity within our industry. Gaming is a particularly high growth area, complementary to our own target audiences and digital output, and this sponsorship presents us with yet another opportunity to build on our understanding of the format and the range of emerging digital platforms.”

Acclaimed by the UK government as an example of best practice in linking universities and the games industry, Dare to be Digital is a proofing ground for young talent. In its eight-year history, Dare has generated five companies, two product deals and seen 80% of its participants get hired by high profile employers in the video games industry. One of the winning teams, Voodoo Boogy, won a BAFTA award Ones To Watch in 2007.