Whistle Sports, Sky Team Up To Bring YouTube Sensations F2Freestylers To America

The F2Freestylers, who have more than 3.6 million subscribers on YouTube, are bringing their soccer skills across the pond. The British trick shot masters will star in F2 vs. The USA, a partnership between Whistle Sports and Sky Sports and one of the seven shows Whistle announced at its 2016 NewFronts presentation.

In the new series, F2 will challenge other Whistle partners (such as Brodie Smith) and athletes from Major League Soccer to a series of trick shot and skill competitions. The show deepens an existing partnership between Sky and Whistle; the British broadcaster invested $7 million in the sports-focused digital network back in 2014.

The other programs announced during Whistle’s NewFronts pitch were:

• Battlegrounds, a world-spanning competition that carries a $50,000 prize.
• Legends of Dunk, a slam dunk competition consisting of eight “regionals.”
• 50 Large, which will consist of 50 separate games, one in each state.
• Crushing History, in which hosts will recreate famous moments from sports history.
• Hall of Gamers, which will pit athletes against gamers on both the couch and the field.
• #WorldTrickshotDay, a new “holiday” that will feature 391 creators.

Whistle also echoed a theme we’ve heard a lot during this year’s NewFronts by promising that the programs it discussed will all premiere in the coming year. To back up its pledge, it pointed to its previous round of originals, on which it followed through after presenting it at last year’s NewFronts. “We delivered on our promises from last year,” said Whistle co-founder Jeff Urban. “That’s not something you hear every election year…or every NewFronts.”