5 Questions For Whistle Sports Founder & CEO John West

Whistle Sports has raised another $28 million through a Series B financing. The fast-growing sports social network targets young audiences through partnerships with YouTube stars such as Dude Perfect and professional sports leagues (including the NFL, MLB, PGA Tour, NASCAR and Major League Soccer). Whistle previously raised $8 million in 2012 from a group of investors, including Peyton Manning and Derek Jeter.

This time, Emil Capital Partners led the investment round, which also included Sky Broadcasting, Liberty Global…and yes, Manning and Jeter again. Whistle launched its multi-channel network on YouTube in January 2014 and now has 12 million subscribers and 225 channel partners, whose videos have been viewed more than 2 billion times. In a statement, Manning said, “The content is great and it is clear that they’re growing quickly.”

I caught up with Whistle Sports Founder & CEO John West. Here’s our Q&A:

WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO LAUNCH WHISTLE SPORTS?

A few months after selling my second company, I was watching traditional sports media on television with my children and — for the first time — was able to see it through their eyes.

What I realized was that turning on the TV to see people in suits sitting behind a desk talking about the clips they had just seen covering topics that focused on some of the worst aspects of sports was not how an entire generation of digital natives wanted to connect with sports.

We spent several years bringing multiple pro leagues on board as equity investors and content partners and then spent 2013 lining up partnerships with some of the world’s most exciting content creators before formally launching on New Year’s Day in 2014. In just over a year, we’ve grown to a community of several hundred creators and over 50 million fans and followers on multiple social platforms.

HOW DID PEYTON MANNING & DEREK JETER GET INVOLVED AS INVESTORS?

They are both incredible role models and represent what’s best about sports. My co-founder, Jeff Urban, was the head of sports marketing at Gatorade, where he had worked with them for years. When we were launching Whistle Sports, both of them were eager to get involved personally. We were excited that they both invested again during the Series B.

BILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN SPENT, LOCKING UP SPORTS RIGHTS LONG-TERM. HOW DOES YOUR CONTENT FARE, COMPARATIVELY?

We have multiple pro league content partners that give us access to their library of content. Most of the billions of dollars spent on sports rights focus on the ability to broadcast live games — which is incredibly exciting as long as the game is on. We have no desire to be part of that bidding war. Our focus instead is on delivering content that’s as enjoyable the fifth or sixth time you watch it — whether it’s behind the scenes access with some of your favorite players, or advice and instruction on how to help get to that level, or jaw-dropping trick shots from some of the world’s top digital talent.

DISH LAUNCHED SLING TV, WHICH ALLOWS PEOPLE TO STREAM ESPN AND OTHER CHANNELS FOR $20/MONTH. WILL THAT LIMIT THE APPETITE FOR WHAT YOU’RE OFFERING?

We don’t view traditional channels as competition in our effort to deliver compelling and creative content that connects with young millennials on their digital devices. ESPN is incredibly good at what they offer, but what they do is not what we do. Whether you’re getting ESPN from a cable company or Sling TV does not impact our focus or our growth, which has been averaging over 2.5 million new fans and followers a week on social platforms.

AMAZON’S ACQUISITION OF TWITCH HIGHLIGHTED THE GROWTH OF eSPORTS. WHAT’S YOUR STRATEGY IN COMPETITIVE GAMING?

It is on our roadmap but not an immediate focus. Like live-action sports rights, this is an area where there has been early-mover advantage gained by larger players, so we will focus on eSports in the verticals where we have the best ability to compete and grow.