EXCLUSIVE: Not long after raising $28 million in additional funding through a Series D round, sports video and branded content player Whistle has signed with CAA.
The deal will give Whistle access to the agency’s resources across TV, motion pictures, digital media and sports. CAA has been building a major presence in sports for more than a decade, making Whistle a logical client.
While many sports stakeholders are compelled to spend billions for league rights, four-year-old Whistle attests to the breadth of sports appetites and how technology helps feed them. Its financial backers have included NBC Sports, Tegna and Sky Broadcasting. Catering to a young audience, the company creates, curates and distributes original sports video and branded content.
The CAA deal and the Series D financing, announced last June, will enable Whistle to push further into the production of mid- and long-form premium content, the company said.
“With CAA, we will redefine premium tier packages to raise the bar on quality content that ignites and engages today’s young audiences,” said Dominic Ianno, Whistle’s EVP of content finance and new initiatives. “Whistle has a portfolio of new IP, series franchises and creator content, and we are going to bring diversified packages to market in both scripted and unscripted formats.”
Whistle’s soccer travel series F2 Finding Football, which was produced for YouTube Premium, earned 2018 Streamy Awards nominations for Show of the Year and Best Sports Show. Olympic Outposts, a Whistle series for the Olympic Channel, explored the unexpected locations that have grown obsessed with sports traditionally dominated by other countries.
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