Riding the WAVE

Jul 22, 2020 | 09:20 pm

UPDATED Jul 23, 2020 | 09:45 am

Photo Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

WAVE.tv recently closed a $32 million Series A funding round, bringing the media company’s total fundraising to $40 million and valuing it between $50 million and $100 million. The company has become the fourth-largest sports media property in digital reach generating 3.5 billion monthly views across a variety of social media platforms reaching 200 million fans monthly. Primary investor CoVenture was joined by GPS Partners, Golden Ventures, and Sweet Capital in this most recent round.

Founded in 2017, WAVE.tv is taking a different approach to growing its media footprint, creating several brands focusing on different sports as opposed to one overarching brand. The company produces programming for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. It also signed a partnership in June to distribute IMG Media’s content on its platforms. In the past several months, the company has seen its revenue increase 75%.

As WAVE.tv continues to grow, so too does its prospective consumer base. During the quarantine, 48% of 13- to 39-year-olds watched more videos on social media – with 40% watching videos weekly or more frequently on Instagram.

With the Series A funding, WAVE.tv is set to focus on developing its brands – that range from covering the Big Four leagues to amateur athletics – onto new platforms while also pushing into e-commerce and sports betting.