Smith will assist with on-camera development training for athletes for the L.A.-based studio(CO)LABORATORY
Sports broadcaster Michael Smith is leaving ESPN to join (co)laboratory, the new athlete studio launched earlier this summer. He will assume the position of Exec VP & Chief Content Officer, and will work both behind the scenes and as an on-air host of upcoming programming. Smith also will assist with on-camera development training for athletes for the L.A.-based studio, which was founded by sports media entrepreneur and Players' Tribune co-Founder Jaymee Messler, movie producer Basil Iwanyk and sports sales exec Greg Economou. The studio is focused on creating a variety of content, including scripted and unscripted programming for film, television, digital, and audio. Details of projects on (co)lab's development slate are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Prior to joining (co)laboratory, Smith worked for 15 years at ESPN in a variety of roles. His highest-profile position was as a co-host along with Jemele Hill of ESPN's attempted revamp of the 6:00pm ET "SportsCenter." The show, which launched in '17 and re-branded as "SC6," was controversial from the start, and both he and Hill were off the air by March '18. Smith in a statement said, "I've been waiting for an opportunity like this, and I couldn't be more excited to join (co)laboratory. We're building a wholly new and disruptive studio model that will undoubtedly yield some of the best original sports-driven narratives out there." Smith is repped by WME's Sharon Chang.
