On Tuesday, May 5 at 9:00 AM, Mike Basone, founder and CEO of VICTORYROAD Studios and VICTORYROAD+, will speak at Uncorrelated on the panel “Sports Investing: Franchises, Media, and the Business of Fandom.”
The panel will explore how sports have become a global asset class — shaped by media rights, brand value, franchise scarcity, and the growing business opportunities around fandom. Basone will join Jason Cipriani, CEO of Corrum Capital Management LLC; Jon Schwartz, Partner and Head of Sports at Prosek Partners; and Ryan Crelin, Commissioner of the ECHL. The conversation will be moderated by Harriet Coleman, Chief Reporter at With Intelligence.
For VICTORYROAD+, the conversation lands directly at the center of the company’s thesis: the next major opportunity in sports is not only in teams, leagues, and media rights — it is in helping athletes, creators, and sports brands turn audience into owned media, premium IP, direct fan relationships, and recurring revenue.
VICTORYROAD+ is a premium creator-led sports platform built for that shift. Part creator channel network, part sports IP factory, and part direct-to-fan monetization engine, the platform helps athletes and creators launch paid channels, co-own premium content, and build deeper relationships with fans beyond the algorithms of social media.
The platform also brings award-winning content development, production execution, and post-production support — giving athletes, creators, and sports brands the infrastructure to build premium media businesses, not just social feeds.
“Social is the top of the funnel, not the final destination,” said Basone. “Athletes and creators have never had more reach, but many still don’t own the customer relationship, the data, or enough of the economics. VICTORYROAD+ is built to become the premium paid layer for athlete and creator-led sports media.”
VICTORYROAD+ launched with Strongman: The Brian Shaw Story, a premium documentary series co-owned with 4x World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw. The series began as a direct-to-fan release on VICTORYROAD+ and has since expanded to Amazon Prime Video, reflecting the company’s broader strategy: build premium sports IP directly with athletes and creators, launch with the most passionate fans first, and then expand through larger distribution windows.
The company is also building original sports entertainment IP through Rabid Fans, the animated sports commentary series co-created and hosted by Basone. The series has grown to 250K+ followers, has Carmelo Anthony as a partner/investor, and recently won both the Webby Award and People’s Voice Award for Best Creator in Sports.
Beyond the platform, VICTORYROAD Studios provides a built-in development, production, audience, and distribution engine. Its work includes premium sports series such as Benedict Men, executive produced with Steph Curry, and Legacy: In the Shadow of Greatness, featuring Dwyane Wade, while also operating sports and entertainment social channels across Sports Illustrated Swim, YES Network, and owned-and-operated VICTORYROAD channels, which collectively generate 100M+ views per month.
Basone’s appearance at Uncorrelated comes as VICTORYROAD+ continues building its network of athlete and creator-led channels, with a growing ecosystem that includes Brian Shaw, NASCAR driver Natalie Decker, Rabid Fans with Carmelo Anthony, a NASCAR docuseries with actor-turned-driver Frankie Muniz, and more.
As sports investors look beyond traditional franchise ownership into media, infrastructure, creators, and fandom, VICTORYROAD+ is positioning itself at the center of that shift.