Endemol Partners With YouTube Gamer KSI On New Sports Channel

YouTube star Olatunji (aka “KSI”) is known for his gaming videos, but he’s just partnered with the UK branch of the premium channel network, Endemol Beyond, to launch an international channel based on more traditional sports.

In RULE’M SPORTS, KSI embarks on a year-long journey to master five different athletic achievements (including, but not limited to boxing, rugby, and football) by training with top athletes (including, but not limited to Louise Hazel, Amir Khan, and James Haskell, all of whom are presumably very well known across the pond).

“RULE’M SPORTS addresses a dramatic short-fall in sports and fitness content created solely for today’s connected youth,” said Endemol Beyond’s UK director, Randel Bryan, in a release. “We see YouTube as an ideal platform to engage with this audience in a language they understand, on any device they choose and at any time they crave it.”

And what better way to appeal to today’s connected youth than with a big YouTube star like KSI. “Creating unmissable content with the hottest stars of the digital video world is what Endemol Beyond is all about,” continued Bryan. “Not only is KSI one of the biggest YouTubers out there, he’s also one of the most entertaining, making him the perfect host for this truly unique digital sports channel.”

KSI is certainly one of the biggest names around. He has over 9 million YouTube subscribers, 1.28 billions views, and in a recent poll by Variety

, he was ranked as the 4th most influential persona in the lives of U.S. teens, beating out the likes of Paul Walker, Jennifer Lawrence, and Katy Perry. His popularity also recently made him the focus of a roast on the show Demolished by Comedy Central UK’s digital division.

Despite all of KSI’s outrageous stunts, he apparently didn’t realize what he was getting into.

“The guys at Endemol Beyond said I was going to have loads of fun, but so far I’ve been knocked about by pro boxers and made to look crazy slow by some top athletes,” he said. “Now they’re lining up some absolutely huge rugby guy for next season, and I’m starting to realise just what I’ve let myself in for! All I can say is that at the end of filming, I won’t just be a beast by name, I’ll be a beast by nature.”

However, KSI hopes RULE’M SPORTS will get his fans off their couches and start enjoying physical games just as much as they do the digital ones.

Make sure you don’t miss more of KSI’s antics by checking out new episodes of RULE’M SPORTS over on YouTube.