Whistle Sports is building a sports network for, and with, millennials.
Today, the digital media company announced a $20 million Series C round, bringing the company’s total funding to $60 million.
Whistle Sports is an entertainment network that helps creators produce compelling sports-focused content across online platforms.
Currently, the company works with over 400 YouTube creators and social media influences, and reaches a community of over 170 million people across different social channels. This audience is growing by more than two million people a week.
The round was led by NBC Sports Ventures, Emil Capital Partners, Sky and Tegna.
“Whistle Sports has successfully captured the imaginations, attention and engagement of millennial sports fans, and consistently delivers compelling content and options to brands and agencies eager to connect with that critical and growing demographic,” said Rick Cordella, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Digital Media, NBC Sports Group, in a statement. “Whistle Sports has proven to be a reliable source of original and creative content, and their data-driven approach to developing new audience insights sets them up for an even stronger future.”
Over the last year, the company launched various new series, integrated commercial content into its platforms, and grew out its content partnerships with professional sports partners. The new funding will be used to further develop these initiatives.
“We launched the company with the belief that young millennial fans were looking for new ways to engage with sports and built a team and community committed to serving them on the places and platforms where they were spending more of their time," said Whistle Sports founder and CEO John West, in a statement. "I’m so proud of the incredible work they’ve done to deliver consistent growth in both audience and revenue. We are thrilled by the enthusiasm, confirmation and commitment from these exceptional companies and their strong support for our continued growth.”
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