Brands launching in-house studios
Retail and lifestyle brands—including Under Armour and Dick’s Sporting Goods—are building in‑house entertainment studios to own storytelling, distribution and sponsorship revenue. That trend creates direct-hire opportunities inside brands and new commissioning routes for LA producers outside the traditional agency model. (adweek.com)
Under Armour branded its new content arm Lab96 Studios and announced it publicly on Oct. 28, 2025, with executive producer and SVP Tyler Rutstein named to lead the unit. (about.underarmour.com) Lab96’s first visible project debuted in September with the short film “We Are Football,” and the studio has announced collaborations on a high‑school football series with Overtime, a women’s flag‑football docuseries with SMAC Entertainment, and a baseball series with Boardroom. (about.underarmour.com) DICK’S Sporting Goods launched Cookie Jar & A Dream Studios on Aug. 7, 2025, naming Mark Rooks as the brand lead for creative, entertainment and sponsorships and positioning the studio against a decade of prior brand filmmaking. (investors.dicks.com) DICK’S has a documented catalog of five feature‑length films and ten short/episodic projects produced over the last 10 years, has earned two Sports Emmy awards for brand‑backed films, and premiered “Big Dreams: The Little League World Series 2024” (produced with Imagine Entertainment and MLB Studios) on ESPN on Aug. 12, 2025. (investors.dicks.com) Both Under Armour and DICK’S have signaled active external sourcing: Under Armour’s Lab96 states it is “open for collaboration” and plans to “strike alliances with independent creators,” while DICK’S lists acquisition, development and partnerships as channels for its studio slate. (variety.com) Industry coverage tracking the same push notes that in‑house brand studios are prompting agencies to build internal production capabilities and that well‑run brand studios are being framed as new commissioning partners for filmmakers and producers. (lbbonline.com)
