Mandalay Sports Media Acquires Roadside Entertainment

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Mandalay Sports Media (MSM) announced today that it has acquired Roadside Entertainment, a leading sports and entertainment production company based in New York City and founded by veteran producers Ron Yassen and John Hirsch. 

Roadside and its staff will operate under the Mandalay Sports Media banner and Mr. Yassen and Mr. Hirsch will become Executive Vice Presidents of Production for MSM.  The acquisition establishes an east coast hub for MSM, and bolsters the company's production and editorial capacity.

Launched in 2004, Roadside produces a diverse range of programming for television, digital platforms and in branded entertainment, in both long and short form formats.  Its portfolio includes TV series and specials for ESPN ("The ESPY Awards"), IFC, ABC, VH1, BET, the Sundance Channel, the NFL Network, CBS, and Showtime.  The company also creates branded entertainment and commercial projects for blue-chip clients such as Reebok, Microsoft, EA Sports, The Honest Company, and Unilever.  In the digital sphere, Mr. Yassen and Mr. Hirsch were co-founders, along with Cash Warren and Baron Davis, of NOC ("Network of Champions"), a sports network on YouTube funded by Google in 2012. 

"We are excited to have Ron, John, and their team join the MSM family. They bring a wealth of producing experience and an impressive client list to MSM, and most importantly, we believe they are a great fit creatively with our company," said Mike Tollin, Co-Chairman of MSM.

"The opportunity to tell stories is a privilege and one that will be enhanced by collaborating with Mandalay," said Ron Yassen.

"We are thrilled to join the team at MSM. This move allows us to broaden our opportunities to produce content across all formats and platforms with a group whose vision closely aligns with ours," said John Hirsch.

Rich Battista, CEO of MSM, said the acquisition will "fortify our efforts to produce first-rate content across all media platforms and also allows us to establish an immediate physical presence on the east coast."

In addition to his work at Roadside, Mr. Yassen was part of the launch team at Classic Sports Network (now ESPN Classic) and has produced and directed more than 30 documentaries for ESPN, acclaimed series "SportsCentury," and "Outside the Lines."  He won a Cine Eagle award as a director on "Glory In Black and White," which inspired the feature film, GLORY ROAD, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.  His first documentary chronicled the historic season of baseball player Roger Maris.

Mr. Hirsch is an Emmy Award-winning producer and director who began his career in live sports production at FOX and ABC Sports.  He left ABC to launch the XFL, where he helped create the television production division, and went on to focus on directing teases and promotional elements for the Super Bowl and the World Cup. 

About Mandalay Sports Media, LLC

Launched in 2012 by Peter Guber's Mandalay Entertainment, producer Mike Tollin and CAA Sports, MSM is a diversified sports content and media company that creates high-quality, sports-themed programming for all platforms and creates, acquires and invests in businesses and assets across the sports content and media landscape.  Since its founding, MSM has produced and is producing content for ESPN, CBS, FOX, The NFL, Xbox Entertainment, Turner Sports, Legendary Entertainment, AOL, among others, with numerous projects in development with major television, digital, feature film and sports entities.   Learn more at: www.mandalaysportsmedia.com

SOURCE Mandalay Sports Media