Youth sports programmer Whistle Sports has closed on a $28M Series B round of venture capital financing, representing another major milestone for the fast-growing operation. Connecticut-based Emil Capital Partners led the round, with participation from U.K. outfit Sky Sports and Liberty Global Ventures. Numerous investors from the company's $8M Series A round in '12 also re-invested, including former MLBer Derek Jeter, Broncos QB Peyton Manning and former MLB President Bob DuPuy. The new funds will primarily be used to help build additional scale for Whistle Sports, which has reached more than 12 million subscribers to its multi-channel video network on YouTube and a total social media reach of more than 50 million people. Roughly 40% of that audience lives outside of the U.S. "This will allow us to expand our global reach much more aggressively," said Whistle Sports Founder & CEO John West. "These are strategic partners, representing some of the largest companies in the world, that will be instrumental in helping us build this platform."
