Whistle, the youth-focused distributor and creator of sports content, has acquired New Form, the Ron Howard and Brian Grazer-backed media company, both companies said in a joint statement on Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The deal comes after Whistle raised $28 million in Series D funding last year, including an investment from Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo. Both companies have made several new content deals recently, with Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media creating a new documentary series for Whistle and New Form adding the Sofia Vergara-produced “365 Days of Love” documentary series to Facebook Watch. The merger allows Whistle, which says it has an audience of 518 million subscribers and followers, to double down on its bet on original series and scale its business.
“It was a great match from the start. Both companies excel at discovering emerging narratives and storytelling,” John West, Whistle’s CEO and founder, said in a statement.
The deal comes after Whistle raised $28 million in Series D funding last year, including an investment from Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo. Both companies have made several new content deals recently, with Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media creating a new documentary series for Whistle and New Form adding the Sofia Vergara-produced “365 Days of Love” documentary series to Facebook Watch. The merger allows Whistle, which says it has an audience of 518 million subscribers and followers, to double down on its bet on original series and scale its business.
“It was a great match from the start. Both companies excel at discovering emerging narratives and storytelling,” John West, Whistle’s CEO and founder, said in a statement.
- 1/23/2019
- by Sean Burch
- The Wrap
Exclusive: Whistle, a rising sports and entertainment content entity repped by CAA, has set a deal to acquire New Form, the content outfit launched in 2014 with backing from investors such as Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Discovery.
The companies declined to reveal terms of the deal, but said it involved a cash investment by New Form in exchange for equity in the combined company. Howard, Grazer, Discovery and other stakeholders such as ITV and agency vet Jim Wyatt, will have equity in Whistle, and a majority of them invested cash into the new entity.
The deal accelerates Whistle’s efforts to scale development and production of original scripted and unscripted content. It follows a number of recent content announcements from both companies, including Whistle’s first documentary series for Quibi, Benedict Men, executive produced by Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media. New Form also just set a daily docuseries for Facebook Watch,...
The companies declined to reveal terms of the deal, but said it involved a cash investment by New Form in exchange for equity in the combined company. Howard, Grazer, Discovery and other stakeholders such as ITV and agency vet Jim Wyatt, will have equity in Whistle, and a majority of them invested cash into the new entity.
The deal accelerates Whistle’s efforts to scale development and production of original scripted and unscripted content. It follows a number of recent content announcements from both companies, including Whistle’s first documentary series for Quibi, Benedict Men, executive produced by Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media. New Form also just set a daily docuseries for Facebook Watch,...
- 1/23/2019
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
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