Charles Barkley is getting ready for a brand new game.
The great basketball player, whose talent on the court and behind the camera was established during sixteen seasons in the NBA and nearly a quarter century as an analyst for Warner Bros. Discovery, wants to get into producing a broader range of content – some of it was related to sports, and some of it was related to popular culture.
To do this, he will launch Round Mound Media, a new production venture, in partnership with EverWonder Studio, an independent content studio led by Ian Orefice and supported by Jeff Zucker’s RedBird IMI. The new studio will leverage Barkley’s vision of ideas expected to lead to original documentaries; live broadcasts; and scripted content. Barkley is just the latest sports star to try out the content game, which has attracted top athletes ranging from LeBron James to Joel Embiid.
“Round Mound Media is about creating an outlet for my vision to share compelling, original stories designed to captivate audiences around the world,” Barkley said in a statement. “I have always looked for projects and relationships that allow me to be authentic and hopefully build my platform to make the world a better place. EverWonder Studio is the perfect partner to be my creative home and take it to the next level. Fans will love what we have in the works and I look forward to getting started.”
Puck News previously reported that Barkley and EverWonder were in talks.
Barkley’s fans and observers will likely be “surprised by the amount of content that is actually about culture and about society and entertainment outside of sports,” Everwonder CEO Orefice said during an interview. “Most people probably first think of Charles as an athlete and broadcasting talent, but his passions are so much bigger than that. This will be a great outlet for him.”
Ten projects are already in development, including what will hopefully be the definitive feature-length documentary on Barkley’s life. Another concept aims to create a franchise of documentary films, each highlighting undiscovered stories about basketball, all narrated by Barkley. Some scripted projects are also being developed.
Barkley will continue to work exclusively as an on-air analyst for Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports and TNT Sports will provide a first look at all of Barkley’s sports-related projects developed with Round Mound.
Marc Perman, who has led Barkley for more than thirty years, will serve as president of the new manufacturing company in addition to retaining his current role at Perman Management, Inc. Barkley and Perman worked on producing the limited series “American Race” for TNT. , as well as “The Great Debate With Charles Barkley,” a sports documentary that examined the lives of six basketball legends.
“With this new joint venture, we have the backing of a studio that understands and believes in Charles’ creative vision and will take his prolific ideas to the next level,” Perman said in a statement. “EverWonder is an excellent partner to amplify Charles’ unparalleled voice and perspective in a way fans and audiences have never seen before, and we can’t wait to bring these new capabilities to the screen.”
RedBirdIMI made an investment in EverWonder in 2023, led by Orefice, a former president of Time Inc. Studios – the first media investment from the $1 billion fund, which is led by Zucker and backed by Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird and Abu Dhabi’s International Media Investments. Orefice founded EverWonder in an effort to do more with non-fiction content, which is still in high demand across a number of content hubs and TV networks.
The company already has a relationship with TNT Sports. EverWonder produced the Players Era Festival, a showcase that gives college athletes the opportunity to participate in unique activities that can help them promote their name, image and likeness. TNT will also air a golf match pitting Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler against Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in what is essentially a PGA Golf versus LIV Golf tournament.
“I worked with Charles for many years at Turner Sports. So I know firsthand what an incredible storyteller Charles is and how much he cares about the content,” Zucker said in a statement. “I am absolutely excited to watch and support the continued evolution of EverWonder and the growth of Round Mound Media together.”