Video Ad Startup FreeWheel Raises $16.8M From Turner, Disney And Others

Video advertising company FreeWheel has raised $16.8 million in funding from Disney’s Steamboat Ventures, and existing investors, including Turner Broadcasting System, Battery Ventures, and Foundation Capital. This brings the company’s total funding to nearly $30 million.

Founded by former DoubleClick employees in 2007, FreeWheel allows marketers and publishers to manage video advertising campaigns across a variety of distribution sites. FreeWheel’s technology allows media companies to operate an advertising platform for online video, including managing ad sales rights, producing inventory forecasts for live or on demand content, delivering a yield-optimized set of ads, and analyzing video business performance.

FreeWheel, which was recently speculated to be an acquisition target, will use the new investment to build out product development and scale its infrastructure. FreeWheel’s media clients include Turner, VEVO, CBS and MLB.com and serves over two billion ad impressions per month. The company also announced formalized agreements with both Discovery Communications LLC and ESPN Internet Ventures to help manage ad businesses and monetize both companies’ digital video content.