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Veteran producer and film executive Jason T. Reed has been named as the head of Skydance Sports, the company announced on Thursday.

Skydance Sports is the sports-focused studio collaboration that was established in 2022, a joint effort between David Ellison’s Skydance Media and the NFL.

With more than 20 years in the media and content industry, Reed’s history includes the creation and production of significant film and TV intellectual properties, such as “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” and the live-action version of “Mulan.” Furthermore, he had an 18-year tenure at The Walt Disney Company, where he excelled in international production and franchise management.

In his newly created role, Reed will spearhead Skydance Sports operations and oversee the development and production of the studio’s entire slate of sports-driven storytelling. This will encompass both scripted and unscripted content, documentaries and events, including NFL-related content.

Reed will report directly to...

Jason T. Reed, a veteran producer who spent 18 years as an exec at Disney overseeing a number of top franchises, has been named Head of Skydance Sports.

The division of David Ellison’s Skydance Media last year formally teamed with the NFL and NFL Films. In his newly created role, Reed will lead overall Skydance Sports operations and the development and production of the studio’s entire slate of sports-driven scripted and unscripted projects, along with documentaries and events.

Jon Weinbach, who has served as President of Skydance Sports since its 2021 formation, will now focus on overseeing the studio’s unscripted and documentary slate. That unit produced NFL Draft: The Pick Is In, a docuseries that became Roku’s most-watched original documentary title ever, earning a renewal for 2024. Another title shepherded by Weinbach was Kelce, a feature documentary on Prime Video about Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.

As Reed takes on the head role,...

Exclusive: While quarterback Brock Purdy continues to kick ass with the San Francisco 49ers, Skydance is looking to the tell story of another player that shares Purdy’s nickname “Mr. Irrelevant,” the moniker given to the last pick in the NFL draft. Sources tell Deadline that the studio is developing a movie about John Tuggle, who was given the title after being the last pick of the last round of the 1983 NFL draft. Jonathan Levine is directing and Nick Santora is penning the script.

The pic will be produced by Skydance Sports, with Levine producing with Gillian Bohrer for Megamix along with Santora, who’ll produce through his banner Blackjack Films. The film will tell the inspiring, heartfelt and true story of Tuggle, drafted by the New York Giants, and his enduring impact on his team and teammates.

“Mr. Irrelevant” first started in 1976 with the drafting of USC receiver Paul Salata,...

Exclusive: EverWonder Studio is teaming with John Skipper’s Meadowlark Media on its first project, a feature-length documentary examining the dynamic relationship between tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, which it will finance and co-produce.

The teams have also secured rights for a future scripted adaptation of the story, Deadline can exclusively reveal.

“I’m thrilled that this project is moving forward, and that we’ve found the right partners in EverWonder and Meadowlark,” stated Evert. “I’m looking forward to sharing our story with global audiences – not just with tennis fans but with anyone who appreciates an inspirational journey through rivalry and to mutual respect and friendship.”

Said Navratilova, “This film has been decades in the making, and EverWonder and Meadowlark are the right studios to finally take it from a concept to a reality. It was important to us to work with storytellers who will honor the...

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We have put together information on some of the best sports viewing options on Prime Video from documentaries to live sports, from talk shows to iconic series and films. The service has plenty of outstanding and well-reviewed sports shows, movies, and documentaries perfect for fans of any sport.

The Best Sports Documentaries on Prime Video All or Nothing Series

Among Amazon’s strongest content offerings are its variety of sports documentaries, headlined...

A docuseries centered on the Dallas Cowboys and owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones is in development from Skydance Sports, NFL Films and the Jerry Jones family.

The untitled series will reach deep into NFL Films’ vast archive of never-before-seen content and will trace Jones’ remarkable rise from the son of an Arkansas community store owner to being one of the most innovative and influential leaders in sports.

It will also spotlight the stars and partners who teamed with Jones along the way, including Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Emmitt Smith, Deion Sanders, Head Coaches Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer, Rupert Murdoch, and Phil Knight.

When Jones risked everything to purchase the club in 1989, the team was coming off a 13-loss season and was losing in excess of $1 million a month. Less than a decade later, the Cowboys won three NFL titles.

“Sharing my father’s journey and his passion for the game,...

NFL Network’s “NFL 360” and NBC’s coverage of the Xxiv Olympic Winter Games led the nomination pack, at ten each, for this year’s 44th annual Sports Emmy Awards. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the ceremony, which takes place at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall on Monday, May 22.

Previously announced: Bryant Gumbel will receive the lifetime achievement award for his role in sports journalism.

“Today we honor these esteemed nominees and celebrate those who bring the thrill of competitive sports into our lives on a daily basis,” said Adam Sharp, president & CEO, NATAS. “We are excited by the extraordinary quality of this year’s submissions and equally excited by the opportunity to honor this year’s Lifetime Achievement honoree, Bryant Gumbel, celebrating his more than five decades of sports broadcasting excellence.”

Nominations were announced in 47 categories, including studio host,...

Update, Wednesday: The wife of soccer journalist Grant Wahl said that an autopsy revealed that he died of an aortic aneurysm.

Celine Gounder, in an interview on CBS Mornings, said, “He had an autopsy done here in New York by the New York City medical examiner’s office, and it showed that he had an aortic aneurysm that ruptured.” Gounder is a CBS News contributor.

Wahl died on Friday while covering the World Cup in Qatar, when he collapsed in the press room shortly before the end of the Netherlands-Argentina match.

Gounder also said that the did not think there was any chance of foul play involved in Wahl’s death, but that it was a heart condition that went undetected.

Previously, Dec. 9: Longtime soccer journalist Grant Wahl died today while covering the World Cup in Qatar. Details surrounding Wahl’s death are murky, but NPR reports he collapsed...

Grant Wahl, a respected sports journalist who has publicly criticized World Cup host Qatar’s repressive anti-gay policies and its cruel treatment of migrant workers, died suddenly on Friday while covering a World Cup match. He was 48.

Wahl had covered 11 world cups during his career, wrote two books about soccer, and notably has worked for Sports Illustrated. He also served as a producer on the three-part Amazon Prime soccer documentary “Good Rivals.”

“I am so thankful for the support of my husband @GrantWahl’s soccer family & of so many friends who’ve reached out tonight. I’m in complete shock,” Wahl’s wife, Celine Gounder, said after the news was made public.

Wahl made headlines on November 21 after he was denied entrance to a world cup match because he was wearing a rainbow shirt to protest the country’s oppressive policies against the LGBT community. When he tweeted about the incident,...

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Grant Wahl, an American sports journalist who was in Qatar covering the World Cup, has died. He was 48.

Wahl’s wife Dr. Celine Gounder and his brother, Eric Wahl, confirmed his death via social media.

“I am so thankful for the support of my husband @GrantWahl’s soccer family & of so many friends who’ve reached out tonight,” Celine tweeted. “I’m in complete shock.”

Wahl, who had garnered a reputation as one of the country’s most established soccer journalists, was reporting on the World Cup for his Substack and serving as an analyst for CBS Sports. On his Substack earlier this week, Wahl reported that he went to a local medical center after feeling unwell.

“What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my...

The NFL and its NFL Films subsidiary have formed a joint venture with Skydance Sports to create a multi-sport production studio.

The teaming brings together the media division of the dominant sports league in the U.S. with the new sports arm of the David Ellison-led entity behind Top Gun: Maverick and a range of other top film, TV and streaming titles.

In announcing the deal, the league said Skydance Media and the NFL are making “substantial investments” in the new studio operation, with the league’s buy-in coming via its strategic investment arm 32 Equity. The announcement cited “significant market demand for non-game sports content, both scripted and unscripted” as the main motivation for the new studio.

Skydance Sports, which launched earlier this year, just completed production on its first two projects for Amazon Prime Video: the soccer docuseries Good Rivals and an untitled Air Jordan film starring Ben Affleck...