Sky plays ball with Whistle Sports

UK satcaster BSkyB has invested US$7m in US-based online network Whistle Sports and will work with the start-up to create content aimed at younger sports fans.

Whistle Sports, which recently expanded into Europe by opening an office in London, holds a library of videos covering basketball and soccer alongside emerging sports like ultimate frisbee.

BSkyB says it hopes to target ‘young millennials’ with the content it will produce with the company and will likely air it on its Sky Sports channels.

Whistle Sports, which has offices in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas and has more than 8.3 million subscribers to its YouTube channel, is the latest US start-up to receive BSkyB backing.

Most recently it invested in online video aggregator Pluto.TV, while it also has a San Francisco office to focus on partnering with tech firms that will give it insights into viewer behaviour.

Other tech investments from the satcaster include IP streaming service provider Roku, the immersive 360 video specialists Jaunt and the video delivery firm 1 Mainstream.

Barney Francis, MD, Sky Sports, 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.”

Emma Lloyd, director, corporate business development, Sky, added: “This latest investment reflects our ambition to partner with pioneering start-ups that can help extend our leadership in content distribution, especially online and on mobile.”