The Young Turks Network (TYT Network) announced Wednesday that it has raised $4 million to expand on platforms and streaming devices.
The YouTube news network received the funding from Roemer, Robinson, Melville & Co., LLC (RRM), a private equity fund led by former Louisiana Governor and Congressman Buddy Roemer, according to Tubefilter. The network has the option to increase funding to $8 million.
"We believe TYT will be one of the critical players moving forward in a new media world- edgy, unfiltered news commentary at its best," Roemer said. "They are a lot like me, sometimes wrong but never in doubt. We expect their news to continue to push the envelope and their business to grow exponentially."
The Young Turks began as a radio talk show hosted by Cenk Uygur, and was then picked up for cable TV distribution on Current TV, TechCrunch reported. The show was cancelled after the network was bought by Al Jazeera America and went to digital form, being primarily distributed on YouTube.
The Young Turks is the network's most popular regular show, responsible for over half of the networks nearly 70 million views each month.
Some fans of the network may find confusion in TYT, which focuses on being independent, receiving funding from a company connected to a political figure with different political views. However, Uygur, TYT Network CEO and co-Founder, said that the network and RRM have much in common, Tubefilter reported.
"The Young Turks and TYT Network have long been a source of independent news and politics for our millions of fans," Uygur said. "While we don't necessarily agree on politics, Buddy and TYT both understand money's damaging influence on our government. Buddy and RRM support TYT Network's mission to bring our viewers the unrestricted truth and analysis of the world's news- from politics to movies, pop culture, sports and more."
TYT is looking to make more deals involving local and international syndication for its content, TechCrunch reported.
The company is also looking to grow its sales team, which can help them work with advertisers on more branded sponsorship deals.
