Dwyane Wade And Drake Invest In High School Sports Channel

Drake and Dwyane Wade are going back to school.

The uber successful rapper and the NBA great have invested in a digital sports media start-up that will cover top high school athletes and their teams.

The company, called Mars Reel, recently completed its initial $4.7 million fundraising round with the stars’ help.

Otter Media, which recently became a unit of WarnerMedia, led the round, and will become an adviser and strategic partner of Mars Reel in several areas of growth, the company said Tuesday.

Drake and Wade join a roster of big names backing the company, including NBA all-stars LeBron James and Kevin Durant and hip-hop artist Nas.

Other investors include Maverick Carter, Uninterrupted’s co-founder and CEO and the CEO of Springhill Entertainment, and Devin Johnson, Uninterrupted’s president and chief operating officer — as well as Translation founder and CEO Steve Stoute, former global network chief for AMC, Sundance and MGM Bruce Tuchman, Mars Reel Chairman Jerry Hall and lead investor Robert Hisaoka.

Initially focused on producing and distributing short videos of high school hoops highlights, Mars Reel has evolved to longer form programs such as, “Mars Reel Chronicles,” a video diary series highlighting the daily lives of up-and-coming basketball stars, and “Life on Mars,” a documentary series profiling athletes who overcome impossible odds to accomplish their dreams.

The content is distributed on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat, as well as via traditional content distribution partners such as USA Today Sports.

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