Greg Economou will lead Game1
A new studio being headed by a trio of media industry heavyweights "has set up shop and it's off to a fast start, with dozens of content deals in place with some of sports' biggest starts," according to Chris Smith of SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL. Game1 is "being led by longtime sports marketing executive Greg Economou, Hollywood producer Basil Iwanyk and former ESPN writer and studio host Michael Smith." Their plan is to partner marquee teams and athletes with Hollywood storytellers to negotiate "distribution deals with the biggest platforms available." Long term, game1 "aims to produce everything from feature films and full-length documentaries to all-access shows, branded content and even podcasts." The studio already has "landed more than 40 content partnerships with leagues, teams and athletes," including Rockets G James Harden, Texans QB Deshaun Watson and Danica Patrick. There are around 115 projects in "various stages of development." Economou and Iwanyk "initially launched last year as (co)laboratory" along with The Players' Tribune co-Founder Jaymee Messler as a partner and Smith as Exec VP and Chief Content Officer. Messler later departed, which both sides said was an "amicable split over differing visions for the company." The company last December "rebranded as game1 and Smith elevated to partner." The three partners own 100% of the company, but Economou noted that they have "received outside seed funding and are considering future rounds of investment" (SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/20 issue).
