Meadowlark Media has made plenty of news in recent months, as the company works to get off the ground. We’re still waiting for the new venture led by ex-ESPNers Dan Le Batard and John Skipper to ramp up its content catalog, and securing new funds might be a big step.
Thursday afternoon, the company announced they’ve secured $12.6 million in a Series A funding round. The investments come from a group of participants that includes DraftKings, Snap Inc. chairman (and former Sony Pictures chief) Michael Lynton, EMJ Ventures, Verance Capital, Wasserman, Carmen Busquets and DAZN.
“With the intense competition to retain audiences at established media and to attract customers to new streaming services, we and our investors see an exciting opportunity for Meadowlark to work with the industry’s best storytellers to add the highest quality sports-focused original programming to their existing entertainment offerings,” Skipper said in a press release.
Front Office Sports reported earlier this year that Meadowlark was seeking between $10-15 million of initial funding, with Wasserman Media Group and DraftKings both listed as potential targets. Just a few weeks later, that funding has been realized in the amount of $12.6 million.
Casey Wasserman, the chairman and CEO of Wasserman Media Group has a working relationship with Skipper, having met at various industry related events during his time as president of ESPN. Skipper also knows DraftKings CEO Jason Robins well, having brokered a deal with the sports betting operator to become ESPN’s official daily fantasy sports platform in 2015. A third investor, DAZN, operated with Skipper as their executive chairman for nearly three years.
Meadowlark has already made significant hires since announcing their venture in January. They recently brought on Jemele Hill and Michael Schur as creative advisors and are in talks with Adam McKay for a similar role. The initial round of funding will be used on their first set of projects and the continued addition of key hires.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
