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Team Whistle's new content strategy centers on marketing the live sports rights of DAZN Group, its new parent company as of last month, president Joe Caporoso tells Kerry.

Why it matters: As DAZN focuses on profitability, the international sports streaming company has sought to recoup the high cost of live sports rights by producing related content.

Catch up quick: Launched in 2014, Team Whistle started as a network of YouTube channels and later expanded to producing its own videos across social platforms. It specializes in sports-adjacent content, such as stories about athletes' hobbies, and now has 111 employees.

Team Whistle raised about $141 million from Aser, Jeffrey Katzenberg's WndrCo, Liberty Global, NBC Sports and others. It had acquired Elisabeth Murdoch's Vertical Networks, digital studio New Form and marketing services firm Tiny Horse.

Eleven Group announced its acquisition of Team Whistle in March 2021 and closed that May. DAZN announced its acquisition of both companies in September 2022 and closed it last month.

Details: Team Whistle continues to manage its creator network and its own slate of shows. But what's changed following these acquisitions is a goal to build more fandom around the players, teams and games related to its owner's live sports rights.

"We have a high level of social expertise that really focuses on non-live and what goes on around the game," Caporoso says from DAZN's office on the 71st floor at One World Trade Center. "How do you keep viewers' attention when the actual game isn't on?"

Team Whistle worked with Eleven to create two videos for its "No Days Off" franchise about two players — Sam Greenwood and Joe Gelhardt — on Leeds United, the English Premier League club that is majority owned by Eleven founder Andrea Radrizzani.

While Team Whistle has longstanding relationships with brands, agencies and social platforms, Caporoso says being part of DAZN helps it "get taken that much more seriously" and can help it sell bigger branded content deals, where it makes the majority of its revenue.

What's next: Another new strategy shift is its push to make more short-form content for YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and TikTok, in addition to mid-form YouTube videos.

"Those [short-form] campaigns done right come in at a lot better margin," Caporoso says. "They're not as big as undertaking this from a production standpoint."

1 big thing: Team Whistle's new home

a photo illustration of joe caporoso of team whistle surrounded images of arrows, a video camera and a football field

Team Whistle president Joe Caporoso. Photo illustration: Tiffany Herring/Axios; Photo: courtesy Team Whistle

Music industry vet Larry Jackson is launching a new music startup, Gamma, that has $1 billion in backing led by Todd Boehly, with Apple and A24 also as investors, Bloomberg reports.

Why it's the BFD: The former Apple Music creative director is one of the biggest names in the recording industry and is now trying to disrupt the major labels.

The big picture: Gamma operates as a one-stop-shop for artists who want more control over their work and to expand beyond music.

Gamma already has deals with Snoop Dogg, Usher and Rick Ross to release new music. Jackson also has a joint venture with Snoop to distribute the catalog for Death Row Records.

The company is also working with A24 to develop movie ideas, as well as a slate of podcasts with online media brand The Shade Room.

Jackson is offering artists long-term licenses for their music, rather than owning the rights like the top labels.

Of note: Gamma recently acquired Vydia, a streaming-focused distribution company.

2. The BFD: Boehly backs Jackson music move 

Photo by L. Busacca/Getty Images for Clive Davis

Matchday, a mobile game startup, raised $21m in seed funding. Lionel Messi's Play Time led. https://axios.link/3ZNiia3

Metro Boomin sold a portion of his existing publishing catalog to Shamrock Capital for about $70m, Billboard reports. https://axios.link/3YwOdKE

Endeavor Group Holdings made a strategic investment in nonscripted production company Asylum Entertainment Group. https://axios.link/3JkEnY3

BBC Studios backed Rebel Rebel Pictures, a new production label by Simon Shalgosky and Daniel Brookes, and will manage global distribution. https://axios.link/3L7erQV

Kakao, the South Korean technology firm, offered to buy up to 35% of K-pop agency SM Entertainment and become its largest shareholder. It currently owns about 4.9% shares. It follows another tender offer from Hybe, the South Korean entertainment company behind BTS, which is currently SM's largest shareholder. https://axios.link/3kPd9zC

Salesforce Ventures launched a $250m fund focused on generative AI startups, Ina Fried reports. https://axios.link/3F2tjfE

Hotstar, the Disney-owned streaming service, will lose HBO content at the end of this month. https://axios.link/3mz7pu6

3. Deal flow

Gigi Sohn, President Biden's pick for a tie-breaking seat on the Federal Communications Commission, has withdrawn her nomination, Axios confirmed. https://axios.link/3mxb2Ro

Roku hired Dan Jedda as CFO, effective May 1. He was a 15-year veteran of Amazon and former CFO of Stitch Fix. https://axios.link/3JloHny

Fox hired Nielsen's Mainak Mazumdar as its first EVP, chief advertising research and analytics officer. https://axios.link/3T0IpIl

Bruce Vaughn will return to Disney as chief creative officer and co-head of Walt Disney Imagineering. He had left in 2016 to become CEO and CCO of Dreamscape Immersive and then joined Airbnb. https://axios.link/3ZyXIL0

MRC named Paramount Television Studios' Jenna Santoianni as president of TV division. https://axios.link/3YqgBhP

4. Movin' on up (or out)

EU, FTC push Musk's Twitter over staff cuts (Axios)

"The Federal Trade Commission has asked Twitter for information about recent layoffs as well as details on the firm's sharing of internal documents with journalists. Meanwhile, the EU wants Twitter to hire more content moderators, according to the Financial Times," Ina writes.

The Senate is entering the chat on TikTok (Axios)

"Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va) and John Thune (R-SD) introduced a bipartisan bill Tuesday giving President Biden greater power to regulate and sanction China-affiliated companies, including social media giant TikTok," Ashley and Andrew Solender report.

Theater chains to studios: Please send us more movies (THR)

"In what's shaping up to be a make-or-break year for exhibitors with steep debt loads, the challenges facing the industry include wage and inflationary pressures on the expense side and Netflix and the streaming revolution still pushing movies straight to video-on-demand," Etan Vlessing writes.

5. Channel surfing

Illustration of a pair of sunglasses with lenses that look like tv screens.

Tastemade opened its first restaurant this week in collaboration with C3 by sbe and with food by chef Wes Avila.

The food-focused media company sees this new restaurant as a "meaningful revenue source" through in-person dining and delivery, Tastemade's head of business development Jeremy Strauss says, along with opportunities to integrate brands and create content for its streaming service. 

💭 Kerry's thought bubble: The bite-sized pollo limon taco I had at last night's opening party was delicious, especially with the margarita. It's also great to see more food options in that neighborhood. Tastemade Me Tacos is located inside the Citizen New York Food Hall at Manhattan West. 

I've found Tastemade to be a fascinating digital media startup to watch as it continues to mature. The 11-year-old company last raised a $48.8 million Series E in 2019, led by Goldman Sachs Growth Equity. 

6. 1 fun thing: Tastemade's first restaurant

Tastemade's Jeff Imberman, sbe Lifestyle Hospitality's Carlos Casados and Chef Wes Avila stand together at the opening on Tastemade's new restaurant

Tastemade's Jeff Imberman, sbe Lifestyle Hospitality's Carlos Casados and chef Wes Avila at the new restaurant opening yesterday. Photo: Kerry Flynn/Axios

🚨 Situational awareness: "TikTok's access controls on U.S. user data are much weaker than the company says, a former ByteDance employee told the office of Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)," Ashley Gold scoops.

@tim_bays: "Rock the Block" on HGTV. This season takes on more relevance since my wife and I will be doing some renovating of our own. 

@kerrymflynn: "Kimberly Akimbo" at Booth Theatre. Lead Victoria Clark is out this week, but I'm looking forward to seeing her understudy from the front row, thanks to a lucky lottery win. 

✏️ Thanks to Michael Flaherty for editing and Katie Lewis for copy editing this newsletter.

Thank you for reading Axios Pro Media Deals! Please ask your friends, colleagues and Leeds United fans to sign up.

March 08, 2023

1 big thing: Team Whistle's new home