Sky Invests $7M In Whistle Sports, Will Work To Develop New Content

U.K. communications giant Sky has invested $7M in Whistle Sports, the N.Y.-based youth sports programmer. The investment is part of a Series B funding round Whistle Sports is in the process of completing. Sky and Whistle Sports will additionally work together to develop new content. Whistle Sports has aggregated more than 8.4 million subscribers to its YouTube-based network of channels. Sky's involvement will also help accelerate a growing international focus for Whistle Sports, which recently opened an office in London to add to existing locales in N.Y., L.A., and Dallas. Sky Sports Managing Dir Barney Francis said, "Whistle Sports has very quickly established itself in the U.S. as a major new sports network. We see lots of potential to harness Sky Sports' content and relationships with major sports bodies to work alongside Whistle Sports' talent network." Sky has invested in several other U.S. digital media and technology companies, including Roku, online video aggregator Pluto.TV and ad exchange firm Sharethrough.