Fanatics, which made its name and business in licensed sports merchandise before pushing into trading cards, betting, and prediction markets, is expanding the scope of its operations again.
This time it’s launching a content studio.
The company has struck a joint venture with Los Angeles–based entertainment studio OBB Media to create Fanatics Studios, which will develop, produce, and distribute a variety of video content, ranging from feature films and documentaries to live events and digital series.
Before striking this deal for Fanatics Studios, OBB developed a variety of sports-related content, including the Cold As Balls sports interview series with Kevin Hart.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but OBB said it intends for Fanatics Studios to generate nine figures in revenue in its first year.
Fanatics Studios already has deals for upcoming projects with a number of known names:
- ESPN: Fanatics Studios will coproduce the upcoming ESPYs award show, and also other content to air on ESPN, including a behind-the-scenes special on the company’s own Fanatics Fest.
- MLB: A similarly multipronged deal includes plans for several original projects, including a docuseries on the upcoming 2026 World Baseball Classic.
- WWE: Fanatics Studios will work with WWE on a variety of unscripted and digital shows, and will also develop a culinary series featuring WWE stars Jimmy and Jey Uso. Fanatics has collaborated on several shows already with WWE, and Front Office Sports reported last month that Fanatics has pitched Netflix on additional WWE shows.
- Tom Brady: Developed along with Shadow Lion, the creative studio founded by the NFL icon and Fox broadcaster, Fanatics Studios will be involved in a docuseries on Brady’s foray into flag football, set to begin this spring at the Fanatics Flag Football Classic in March in Saudi Arabia.
- LA28: Fanatics Studios will produce the official film for the upcoming 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The pact between Fanatics and OBB, roughly a year in development, builds upon a prior relationship in which OBB has been a producer and the official content partner of Fanatics Fest, the company’s annual sports fan and collectibles festival in New York.
Fanatics will work exclusively with OBB on all of its content efforts, while OBB will be exclusive to Fanatics for all of its sports-related projects. The new Fanatics Studios venture will leverage much of the existing infrastructure that OBB has, including studios and back-end technology, but the two companies are also in the midst of hiring additional personnel, including on-air talent.
OBB’s portfolio and lengthy track record likely helped Fanatics garner the initial set of film projects—including with entities that have their own in-house production capabilities.
“We feel like we have our pulse on the culture of sports and how to get virality,” OBB Media founder and CEO Michael D. Ratner told FOS. Ratner will also be the CEO of Fanatics Studios.
“We know what fans are looking for,” Ratner said. “Yes, many of our partners have production capabilities, but I think there’s a bit of a ceiling on what they can do in this space. We can come in with additional energy and culture and work with them to really build up the fan experience.”
