FRAME BY FRAME | IP DEVELOPMENT & STUDIO SALE

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Client: Self-Initiated → Acquired by SpringHill Entertainment LLC
Role: Creator, Executive Producer & Brand Strategist
Timeline: 2020–2024 (Concept Development through Studio Acquisition)
Project Type: Entertainment IP Development, Show Format Creation, Commercial Model Design, Studio Sale

Most people pitch a studio an idea and hope it lands. I built the whole business first, then sold it.

Studios pass on concepts every day. What they actually buy is a finished property: format, talent, production model, and revenue math already mapped. So I didn't develop a pitch. I built a show as a company.

With photographer Mel D. Cole and his 22-year network, I created a premium cultural documentary series, "Anthony Bourdain meets Gordon Parks," then built everything a studio needs to say yes. A six-act episode format. A season of cultural moments ready to shoot. Brand integration designed into the structure instead of bolted on after. More than 30 talent relationships ready to activate. The access was the moat. You cannot buy a 22-year network with a budget.

SpringHill Entertainment, LeBron James's company, acquired it in April 2024 with a 12-month agreement to shop it to major networks and streamers. I kept 33.3 percent ownership in perpetuity and an equal say in every creative and business decision. Not a buyout. A stake.

Studios don't buy ideas. They buy finished thinking. Build the whole business and you negotiate as an owner, not a hopeful.