Sky has invested $300,000, in the form of a convertible debt security, in Los Angeles-based TV4 Entertainment, a maker of special-interest television channels.
Those channels, aimed at audiences that are “typically underserved by traditional TV companies,” are offered on platforms such as Hulu, Amazon, Sony, Vimeo, YouTube, and Roku.
TV4’s current portfolio includes DocComTV; All Warrior Network; Motorland; the Ultimate Champion Network, and The Clarity Project. It claims to have north of 30 channels in development, and has already licensed more than 5,000 feature-length and short form videos as well as TV and Web-centric series.
“This exciting investment will help us develop our understanding of niche content genres and what audiences are most passionate about,” Emma Lloyd, director, corporate business development at Sky, said in a statement. “We are committed to developing partnerships right across our business that support and extend our leadership position in content and innovation. We look forward to working with the team at TV4 Entertainment as they continue to grow.”
Sky, which is based in the U.K. with a presence in Silicon Valley, has also invested in other online video startups and projects, including Whistle Sports, Pluto TV, ad tech firm Sharethrough, Roku, virtual reality content startup Jaunt, and OTT specialist 1Mainstream, which was recently acquired by Cisco Systems.
