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Docuseries Coming As Part of Serena Williams Deal With Amazon

The content deal with Amazon is a first-look agreement.

Russ Heltman

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Serena Williams’ chase to be tennis’ winningest champion is going to hit a lot closer to home for Amazon subscribers. Williams is starring in an untitled docuseries about her life on and off the court from Amazon Studios.

This isn’t the first time Williams has showcased her journey as an athlete. She teamed up with HBO for a five-part docuseries called Being Serena in 2018. 

“I’m very excited to be partnering with Amazon Studios – they are developing some of the most inspiring and important content for a global audience,” Williams said. “I have a lot of stories I’m eager to tell, including a continuation of my own, and I look forward to sharing those with the world.”

The deal is part of a first-look agreement, meaning Amazon has the initial chance to access Williams’ content before other distributors.

“Serena has transformed her sport and become one of the most inspiring athletes, entrepreneurs, and women of her generation, admired not only for her unmatched prowess on the court but for her dedication to advocacy as well,” said Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios.

The release date and title of the upcoming Amazon series are unknown, but Williams is executive producing.

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Andre Iguodala, Evan Turner Move Podcast From Meadowlark Media to SB Nation

“Basketball is our north star, but our conversations are universal.”

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Point Forward
Courtesy: Vox Media

Former National Basketball Association forwards Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner are bringing their hit podcast, Point Forward, to Vox Media and SB Nation for its third season. The duo will release weekly episodes of the show on various audio distribution platforms in addition to their YouTube channel, which has nearly 60,000 subscribers. The partnership will give fans a look at life as an NBA player on and off the court and how the game has changed over the years with thought-provoking, insightful conversation. Meadowlark Media had produced, monetized and help distributed the podcast for its first two seasons on the air.

“Andre and Evan have reached some of the highest levels of success both on and off the court, and we couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to partner with them in bringing Point Forward to the SB Nation family,” Jermaine Spradley, publisher at SB Nation, said in a statement. “We’re always looking for partnerships that allow us to connect influential creators with the most loyal sports fans, and we plan to bring Point Forward to life at the biggest sports moments during the NBA season to engage even further with the community that SB Nation was founded upon.”

Episodes will be released starting in October and will feature discussions between the two co-hosts and special guest appearances. Over the first two seasons of the show, athletes such as Stephen Curry and Sue Bird, along with LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and Vista Equity Partners founder and chairman Robert Smith, have appeared on the program for interviews. Whether the discourse centers on sports stories, business advice or motivation, both Iguodala and Turner will grant viewers an exclusive look into the way they think and set themselves up for sustained success.

Point Forward has always been about diving deeper into topics that resonate with our audience, and now with the unparalleled reach and expertise of SB Nation and Vox Media, we’re excited to take our conversations to an even wider audience,” Iguodala said in a statement. “Basketball is our north star, but our conversations are universal.”

“Having been on both sides of the game – as a player and a coach – I’ve come to appreciate the myriad stories that exist within the world of sports,” Turner added in a statement. “Andre and I have always had raw and honest discussions, and now we have a platform that will allow us to reach fans, thinkers, and enthusiasts on an even greater scale. The next season is set to be our best yet, and we’re thrilled to embark on this journey with SB Nation and Vox Media.”

The third season of the show will include presenting sponsor DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sports betting operator of the show. Additionally, there are opportunities to integrate additional sponsors into the program, which has Vox Media and SB Nation assuming sales, marketing and distribution responsibilities as part of the deal.

The business entity will also collaborate with Iguodala and Turner to explore new ways to appeal and entertain the audience throughout the NBA season. With this deal, the show officially joins the Vox Media Podcast Network, which continues to grow and includes premium offerings from luminaries and experts, including Sam Sanders, Preet Bharara and Esther Perel among others.

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Pat McAfee: We Had ‘No Idea’ How Lou Holtz Would React to Interview Bit

“We’re like, very thankful that they took it positively, but you never know until he’s sitting there.”

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Lou Holtz Interview on The Pat McAfee Show
Courtesy: The Pat McAfee Show/ESPN

Pat McAfee will be the first one to tell you that he never expected the interview with Lou Holtz from his show in South Bend last week to get the legs that it did. The interview was referenced by Ohio State coach Ryan Day after the Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame as motivation for the win.

The interview featured producer Ty Schmitt in Notre Dame garb and a prosthetic Holtz mask interviewing Lou Holtz as Lou Holtz.

While the college football world has talked a lot about Holtz saying that Ohio State is not a tough team and Day’s response to that, McAfee admitted on his show Wednesday that he had no idea how it would go.

“Ty’s been doing this impersonation for his whole life, on this particular program the last couple of years,” he told guest Bobby Carpenter. “Then Lou Holtz, his foundation, started following us, and we’re like, very thankful that they took it positively, but you never know until he’s sitting there.”

Carpenter said that he is surprised it went as well as it did, because Holtz had to be uncomfortable, at least for a moment.

“Anybody that can sit there with an impersonator of them in a chair, I have an immense respect for, because that’s hard, man, when you dive into your deepest insecurities. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but like Stephen A. Smith, Lou Holtz, guys that get impersonated, Gruden, that’s a tough deal.”

Earlier this week, McAfee said it was “so dumb” that a bit from his show was at the center of a controversy in college football. That doesn’t mean he isn’t happy that is the case.

“It was phenomenal. I appreciate, though, that Ryan Day utilized that to motivate the boys.”

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Bobby Marks Named Lead Instructor of Sports Business Classroom

“I’m excited to join Sports Business Classroom, teaching and mentoring the next generation of front office executives.”

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Bobby Marks

Bobby Marks is taking on an active role in training the next generation of basketball leaders. He has been hired as the lead instructor for Sports Business Classroom, an online school dedicated to teaching students what they need to know to succeed on the business side of sports.

ESPN’s NBA Front Office Insider will oversee SBC’s current course offerings. He will also develop new curriculum, including a video-on-demand course reviewing the 2023 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Prior to joining ESPN, Marks spent two decades working in the Nets’ front office. His specialty was salary cap management. 

“I’m excited to join Sports Business Classroom, teaching and mentoring the next generation of front office executives,” Marks said in a press release. 

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