- NBA star Antetokounmpo joins as strategic partner
- WSE has partnerships with Snap, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
- Company to use funds to develop media brands, original shows and sports betting content
Wave Sports + Entertainment (WSE) has closed more than US$27 million in Series B funding from a group of investors that includes National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The round was led by private equity firm TZP Group with participation from Crossbeam Venture Partners and GPS Investment Partners. Verance Capital and Nimble Ventures also invested.
Milwaukee Bucks centre Antetokounmpo joined the round as a strategic partner.
The group joins existing investors Golden Ventures, Sweet Capital, and Henrik Kraft, as well as Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, and sports personality and investor Jay Williams.
WSE, which publishes content on various digital platforms and claims to have more than 110 million followers globally, has said the funding will accelerate the launch and scale of new and existing media brands, talent-led original shows, and premium programming.
WSE, which rebranded from Wave.tv in December, will also focus on developing sports betting content, in addition to a suite of consumer products and experiences designed to extend fan engagement.
The company also plans to commit significant resources to technological innovations, such as advancing WSE’s proprietary predictive content management and analytics platform.
The capital injection has come as California-based WSE adds industry veteran Rich Battista to its board. The former Fox executive will serve as the executive chairman of the board of directors. Shamit Mehta, partner at TZP Growth Equity, will also join the WSE board. Ishaan Sutaria, who co-founded WSE in 2017, is no longer on the board after stepping down as co-chief executive to pursue other business ventures.
“Sports storytelling is timeless, and this simple concept is at the heart of WSE’s vision,” said Brian Verne, co-founder and chief executive of WSE.
“WSE represents the future of sports and entertainment for an entire generation of new fans. We are evolving legacy sports media by creating content that resonates with today’s audiences and that is designed for the digital formats where they spend most of their time.”
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