Footage of timber sports distributed on one of Wave.tv's digital channels. The startup has raised money to fund its expansion plans.
Photo: Wave.tvDigital-media startup Wave.tv has raised $32 million to fund its expansion plans despite the blow the coronavirus pandemic dealt to its chief subject area—sports.
The Series A round, which consists of new equity and debt, values the company, incorporated as Bullpen Sports Network Inc., at between $50 million and $100 million, according to Ishaan Sutaria, the president of Wave.tv.
The funding round was led by new backers CoVenture and GPS Investment Partners, with participation from existing investors including Golden Ventures and Sweet Capital.
Wave.tv said it has increased viewership and doubled its monthly revenue since March, partly by focusing on nonmainstream sports as well as off-the-field videos featuring athletes and fans.
It plans to use the new funding to expand its business catering to both mainstream and niche-sport fans, executives said.
“We can tap into the broader amount of sports moments that are happening every day that are not being covered by most sports media,” Mr. Sutaria said.
Wave.tv uses content from 65 mainstream and niche sports leagues and organizations to program 18 themed media brands across platforms such as Snap Inc.’s Snapchat, Facebook Inc.’s Instagram and Bytedance Ltd.’s TikTok. Its deal with Endeavor Group Holdings Inc.-owned IMG, for example, gives it access to content from promotions such as the World’s Strongest Man. Wave.tv shares the advertising revenue it generates with its content partners, the company’s executives said.
Even within its content covering mainstream sports, Wave.tv emphasizes unique or offbeat moments, sometimes captured away from the field, over game highlights.
A channel called The Pump that features extreme fitness and athletic stunts, for example, includes footage from wood-chopping competitions.
Fans also submit home videos to be featured on one of Wave.tv’s channels. The company’s flagship channel, for example, posted a video of a quarantine Wiffle ball fail.
Since the pandemic began, roughly 80% of Wave.tv’s overall viewing came from videos featuring nontraditional sports, the company said. That reflects partly the lack of new content from mainstream sports partners such as Major League Baseball, and partly from the company’s growing library of alternative sports clips. About 29 of the company’s rights partnerships, including 16 of the 26 deals signed in the past few months, are focused on nontraditional sports such as karate, badminton and bare knuckle fighting, Wave.tv executives said.
More established sports media companies have tried similar tactics during the pandemic, filling their airwaves and social feeds with an array of sports-related or sports-adjacent content.
“Even ESPN is posting on Instagram about slap-fighting,” said Gregory Tedesco, executive vice president of digital and performance marketing at ad agency Zeno Group. “This is stuff that people might not participate in, but they will share it with their friends.”
But Mr. Tedesco said Wave.tv is an attractive option for clients seeking to reach millennials and Gen-Z audiences online. Eighty percent of Wave.tv’s viewers are 13 to 34 years old, according to the company.
“They are taking sports content and creating dynamic assets that are very human and speak to how the average sports fan likes to share things online,” he said.
Wave.tv also has begun to do direct brand deals. Marketing clients have included Under Armour Inc. and Molson Coors BeverageCo.’s Miller Lite, Wave.tv executives said.
Wave.tv will use its new funds in part to launch or acquire programming brands as well as to expand into other content formats, including audio and longer-form video. The company will remain focused on distributing its content to platforms where younger viewers are spending their time, company executives added.
“We’re tapping into fandoms that have existed for a long time, and adapting it to the platforms and mediums where today’s Gen Z and millennials are going for their sports entertainment experience,” said Brian Verne, Wave.tv’s chief executive.
Write to Sahil Patel at sahil.patel@wsj.com
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