Podcast company Blue Wire Media raised $5 million in a recently closed Series A round.
Investors in the round included Dot Capital, Bettor Capital, Side Door Ventures and Forty5 Ventures. Dot Capital led the round, as well as a $1.2 million seed round in February.
Sports Slate
- Blue Wire currently has a network of 140 podcasts hosted by journalists, athletes, brands and teams like the Baltimore Ravens
- Athlete-hosts include Baron Davis, Greg Olsen, Ian Happ and a show by Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird
- Soccer reporter Grant Wahl launched the company’s first long-form narrative podcast, “American Prodigy,” which chronicles the career of Freddy Adu
Blue Wire is leveraging its more than 20 million podcast downloads this year to capture a chunk of the podcast ad revenue market that is projected to reach $1 billion next year.
Also announced: a partnership with Snap. Blue Wire will produce “The Come Up,” detailing obstacles professional athletes face at the onset of their careers, in three-to-five minute videos. NBA players to be featured in the first season:
- Mo Bamba
- Fred Van Vleet
- Duncan Robinson
- Obi Toppin
The new investment will help Blue Wire create eight to 10 podcast series — which it will also try to option for film and TV.
