Whistle Sports Receives $7 Million Investment, Tackles Global Expansion

One of digital media’s top competitors of online video, Whistle Sports, recently received a huge investment.

European satellite-TV company, BSkyB, has invested $7 million into the global and sales expansion of Whistle Sports. The investment is part of a larger fundraising effort for Whistle Sports. Some of the site’s initial investors include sports star Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning and Tim Wakefield.  AOL’s Bob Pittman and Oxygen Media’s Geraldine Laybourne are also investors.

The goal for the $7 million investment is to assist Whistle Sports grow its international presence; and continuing to increase its popularity on YouTube. To date, Whistle Sports has 8.5 million YouTube subscribers across 192 sports-oriented channels. BSkyB’s investment will also help grow their sales team.

In total, CEO and founder John West says Whistle Sports reaches 24 millions users across seven platforms. BSkyB and future venture capitalists investments will help the online video site to stay ahead of the curve with the younger generation.

“What we’ve done in last few years is figure out where today’s generation are consuming video-based content,” said West. “It’s short-form content designed to augment live (broadcasts of) sports. We’re sort of at the intersection of Millennials and (the succeeding) Generation Z, depending on your definition.”

According to Deadline, the company already has deals with the NFL, Major League Baseball, and the professional Lacrosse league, among other initiatives, and is increasingly organizing its content across verticals such as football, baseball, basketball and lacrosse. Its newly opened London office will allow the company to familiarize itself with soccer, cricket, and other popular sports played globally.