THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Sports Powerhouse Fanatics Pushes Into Entertainment With Launch of Fanatics Studios

Fanatics, the Michael Rubin-led sports juggernaut, is getting into the entertainment business in a major way.

The company is partnering with OBB Media to launch a new joint venture, Fanatics Studios, with a flurry of major deals lined up to support the studio at launch, including with LA28, ESPN, WWE and MLB. The venture plans to produce live events, unscripted and scripted original series, feature films and digital content.

“I’m allergic to thin, vanity shingle announcements. So much work needs to go on behind the scenes to make a project real,” says OBB Media founder and CEO Michael D. Ratner, who will also lead Fanatics Studios. “We’re not here announcing development deals, we want to talk about what we’re really doing.”