Antetokounmpo recently signed a three-year, $186 million extension with the Milwaukee Bucks, has a raft of endorsement deals and sprawling business interests — and now he’s adding another title, media operator.
Ex-NBA star and ESPN host Jay Williams is Antetokounmpo’s cofounder in the as-yet-unannounced company, Improbable Media. (Antetokounmpo’s best-selling 2022 memoir was titled “Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP”; a link to Improbable Media goes to a private site.) The CEO is Jonathan Stern, who is well versed in media and branded content, having worked in executive roles at Red Bull Media House and Fusion Media Network.
The company, which is hiring for a VP of Branded Entertainment, according to a listing on LinkedIn, has ambitions to create original and commercial projects across media platforms. Business Insider couldn’t determine the company’s source of funding.
“We’re establishing a state-of-the-art content studio that not only generates revenue but also nurtures passion-driven communities while offering innovative marketing solutions to brands. With our media and brand consultancy arm, we’re on a mission to redefine the world of branded entertainment,” reads the job posting.
Viewers can expect the company’s content output to reflect Antetokounmpo’s interests in empowerment and charity. The website for his family’s 6-month-old investment company, Ante Inc., describes it as a portfolio of holdings for social impact (it includes stakes in the Milwaukee Brewers, a candy company, a nutritional company, and a golf team co-owned by Venus and Serena Williams and Serena’s husband, Alexis Ohanian).
Antetokounmpo and his brothers, three of whom have also played pro basketball in the US, founded the Charles Antetokounmpo Family Foundation to help underprivileged people in the US, Greece, and Nigeria. The family’s story is told in “Rise,” a biopic streaming on Disney+. Antetokounmpo’s message could appeal to brands that are increasingly trying to use filmed entertainment to reach ad-avoidant consumers.
The athlete media brand has gained steam in recent years, with Derek Jeter-founded The Players’ Tribune, Stephen Curry’s Unanimous Media, and LeBron James’ SpringHill among well-known examples. They’ve had mixed success: Players’ Tribune was sold in 2019 after struggling to gain an audience; SpringHill two years ago raised money at a $725 million valuation.
While Antetokounmpo enters the space with a powerful personal story and a robust sports career, there are risks to celebrity-tied companies, especially when their famous founders are often in the spotlight and may be busy with other ventures.
The market for entertainment content has also become tougher as streamers cut spending to get to profitability. Branded entertainment has helped replace some of that revenue for production companies, but its reliability is uncertain as brands struggle to prove the return on investment for such content.
This article was originally published on December 6 and has been updated.
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