Sky has become the "latest traditional media group to invest in a YouTube video network" with the acquisition of a $7M stake in Whistle Sports, a youth-focused U.S. company, according to Cookson & Mance of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Founded in January, Whistle Sports operates "192 channels on platforms including Google's YouTube and Microsoft's Xbox." The company shows sports ranging from basketball to ultimate Frisbee through partnerships with a "number of rights holders and leagues." The deal is Sky's first investment in a "multichannel network" on YouTube, and follows a "flurry of similar deals by other big media groups such as RTL, Comcast and Walt Disney" (FT, 10/29). BLOOMBERG's Lucas Shaw reported Whistle Sports spokesperson Brian Selander said that the investment is part of a "larger round of financing the online video company will announce in coming weeks." Sky is one of "several European media companies to invest in the North American online video market." German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG owns 20% percent of L.A.-based management and production company Collective and Bertelsmann SE & Co.'s RTL Group holds a 51% stake in Vancouver-based network BroadbandTV. Sky and Whistle Sports said they will "share talent and collaborate
on production" (BLOOMBERG, 10/29).
TREND CONTINUES: In London, Christopher Williams reported Sky is expected to "use Whistle Sports to help increase the
appeal of Sky Sports to a younger audience online." The broadcaster courts to
start-ups by "offering commercial partnerships as well as cash, and Whistle
Sports recently opened new offices in London."
Sky Sports Managing Dir Barney Francis said, "We see lots of
potential to harness Sky Sports' content and relationships with major sports
bodies and brands to work alongside Whistle Sports' talent network." Sky has a permanent office in Silicon Valley that "seeks out such trends and
opportunities" (TELEGRAPH, 10/29). In L.A., Georg Szalai reported Whistle Sports' previous investors include former MLB N.Y. Yankees player Derek Jeter, iHeartMedia Chair Bob Pittman and former Oxygen Media Founder & Chair Geraldine Laybourne. Sky, in which Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox owns a 39% stake, said the investment is "part of its ongoing program of providing funding to innovative startups that help bring new ideas and services to its business" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 10/29).
