Sky Invests in U.S. Online TV Outfit TV4 Entertainment

LONDON: Sky has invested $300,000 in the Los Angeles-based TV4 Entertainment, which owns a bouquet of special-interest television channels distributed online.

TV4’s portfolio includes a dozen channels, reaching millions of unique users every month. It has more than 30 new channels in development. Its current roster includes DocComTV, aimed at documentary devotees; All Warrior Network, for fans of the warrior genre; Motorland, a video network for automotive enthusiasts; the Ultimate Champion Network, which has programming for combat-sports fans; and The Clarity Project, a channel exploring child illness. The channels are distributed across multiple online platforms in the U.S., including Hulu, Amazon, Sony, Vimeo, YouTube and Roku.

Emma Lloyd, the director of corporate business development at Sky, commented: “This exciting investment will help us develop our understanding of niche content genres and what audiences are most passionate about. 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.”

Jon Cody, the founder and CEO of TV4 Entertainment, said: “Our goal in this round of investment was to bring on strategic global investors that could unlock business opportunities as we expand internationally over the next year. Bringing Europe’s top entertainment company in Sky into the TV4 Entertainment family is the perfect fit for this mandate. We look forward to growing the value of the company for our shareholders while bringing tomorrow’s television to viewers across the globe today.”