The Players’ Tribune co-Founder JAYMEE MESSLER and Hollywood producer BASIL IWANYK have founded a first-of-its kind athlete content studio called (co)laboratory. Financial details and equity stakes were not announced. Veteran sports exec GREG ECONOMOU also will join (co)laboratory as co-Founder & Partner. The L.A.-based company will produce a variety of original programming including feature films, documentaries, television, video and digital series for athletes, sports teams, brands and leagues. This is the first venture for Messler since leaving The Players' Tribune earlier this year. "My career has always been focused on empowering athletes in finding different ways and formats to help them use their voice and share stories -- this is an extension of that," Messler said. "There was a gap that needed to be filled for athletes looking to produce and develop stories across a variety of formats that are compelling, meaningful and have an impact." This is an emerging, viable business, as athletes such as LEBRON JAMES and STEPHEN CURRY have partnered with major motion picture studios to produce a variety of film, television and streaming content in recent years. James has a deal with Warner Bros. and Curry has a deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment. (co)lab, as it is known for short, will work with athletes who want to tell interesting, important or funny stories and need a production partner.
LOOKING TO LEVERAGE SPORTS RELATIONSHIPS: Economou, who has deep relationships with teams, leagues and brands, will be able to help those entities produce original content. "Sports properties are already seeking to become better storytellers," he said. "So, in addition to developing our own original content, a major focus of ours will be working with sports teams, leagues, and brands investing in sports on content-related projects." He noted (co)laboratory is looking to pioneer the business of programming and branded content. "We want to help reimagine how brands are telling stories and help them create more authentic connections with consumers by leveraging the entertainment space and the best content creators," he said. The company will have an original production arm, (co)lab studios, which will provide athletes with development funds and content creators -- including actors, directors, producers and writers. Additionally, (co)laboratory will help teams, leagues and brands develop a content strategy as well as navigate the entertainment industry and connect with Hollywood content creators, Economou said. Iwanyk is the founder of Thunder Road Films, which is known for producing movies like "A Star Is Born," "The Town” and the "John Wick" franchise. He said (co)laboratory will produce feature films as part of the overall mix, but will be able to produce different kinds of content to be shown in different formats than Thunder Road Films. "This company is going to be a lot more nimble in terms of the kinds of stories we're telling," Iwanyk said.
ALREADY WORKING ON PROJECTS: Messler and Iwanyk are already working with athletes developing a variety of projects. "I don't look at (co)lab as a movie company at all," Iwanyk said. "I look at it as a storytelling company. I look at it as a place where you take a story -- whatever that thing is -- we look at this and say ‘Will this be a digital series, a long form digital series, scripted or unscripted? Is this a film? Is this a short form documentary?’" Iwanyk said the market for sports content has undergone a sea change in recent years. “The biggest change for me was five, six years ago. There were a very limited number of buyers for sports content," he said. "ESPN was a clear one. Fox Sports. There weren't a lot. Now there is ESPN; there is Netflix, Apple, Hulu, DAZN; there are regional sports networks; there is Facebook Watch; there is YouTube. It's endless, what a booming market for sports content there is." Messler said the founders brainstormed for a while before coming up with the name (co)laboratory. "It has a dual meaning: (co)lab is short for ‘content laboratory,’ which is what we are in the literal sense, but it also represents what we stand for, which is collaboration," Messler said. "We are uniquely bringing the worlds of sports and entertainment together to collaborate and create. The name felt right."
