Authentic Studios was created in the wake of the company’s expansion of its Entertainment division, which includes “icons, living legends and media brands” such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal, David Beckham and Sports Illustrated. Its portfolio of more than 40 global superbrands also includes Reebok, Juicy Couture, Ted Baker, Brooks Brothers, Forever 21 and more. Authentic Studios “allows the company to leverage this vast portfolio of IP and maximize value through comprehensive content, merchandise and experiences.”

Authentic Studios currently comprises four labels: Shaquille O’Neal’s Jersey Legends, David Beckham’s Studio 99, Sports Illustrated Studios, and Authentic Productions. Authentic Studios will also look for new material to develop and produce, as well as participate in co-production and financing opportunities with third parties around their original content.

“Authentic Studios is unique in its ability to leverage Authentic’s in-house roster of brands and a deep catalog of IP to develop and produce content in all forms with 360-rights control,” said Colin Smeeton, President of Authentic Studios. “Each of our four labels features a style of storytelling resulting in compelling content for all traditional and streaming mediums.”

Smeeton joined Authentic more than seven years ago after being among the key executives who helped build Shaquille O’Neal’s personal brand expansion, strategic partnerships and new business ventures. He has since been at the forefront of developing Authentic’s entertainment business drawing on over 20 years of experience in film, television and documentaries. Most recently, Smeeton executive produced the Emmy nominated documentary series, SHAQ for HBO and has produced multiple projects for Lionsgate, ABC, ESPN, TNT and Netflix.

UK media executive Nicola Howson, who co-founded Studio 99 with David Beckham and David Gardner, will continue to lead the business from Authentic’s London office, and Jersey Legends co-founder Mike Parris will continue to run the day-to-day business alongside Smeeton and serve as an executive producer for its content.

Studio 99’s production slate includes World War Shoe, a documentary for Disney + that chronicles the sibling rivalry that spawned the two global sneaker giants Puma and Adidas; a new biopic of world snooker legend Ronnie O’ Sullivan, a premium documentary series for Netflix charting the life and career of David Beckham; and as yet unannounced series for Amazon and ESPN. Studio 99 has recently delivered Save Our Squad for Disney + and Fever Pitch, a history of the Premier League, for Paramount Plus.