Dana White's Thrill Sports Signs With IAG for Global Push — SkimNews
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- Thrill Sports signed with Independent Artist Group for worldwide representation in TV/media rights, brand partnerships and global touring, plotting the company's next phase of global expansion.
- Thrill Sports portfolio includes Power Slap, Street League Skateboarding and Nitro Circus, plus in-house Thrill Sports Productions, which launched in 2025 with the series "RAM: Race for the Seat" tied to RAM's NASCAR reentry.
- Independent Artist Group will advise on broadcast, cable, streaming, FAST and international distribution; the agency's live-touring résumé includes Metallica, 50 Cent, Mary J Blige, Def Leppard and the record-breaking 10-year Billy Joel Madison Square Garden residency it conceived.
- The deal reunites Dana White with longtime partners Fiume Capital and Craig Piligian, and notably represents his first major agency move outside the WME Group orbit — WME's Ari Emanuel led the $4 billion UFC buyout in 2016 and now runs TKO Group Holdings after the 2023 UFC-WWE merger.
- Thrill Sports properties have generated 80 million social followers, 20+ billion annual impressions and 50+ billion lifetime video views, with particular strength in the 18-to-34 demographic, per the company.
- IAG CEOs Jim Osborne and Kyle Loftus called the brands "uniquely positioned for significant success," while Thrill Sports CEO Frank Lamicella called IAG a "like-minded advocate" that sees what the company sees.
Why it matters: This deal gives Thrill Sports access to the live-touring machinery IAG built for Metallica and Billy Joel's 10-year MSG residency, potentially moving extreme-sports properties into venues and broadcast channels the genre hasn't historically reached. For IAG, Thrill Sports' 80 million social followers and 20+ billion annual impressions extend the agency beyond its music base into the 18-34 live-sports audience. The reunion with Fiume Capital and Piligian also marks a deliberate rep shift away from White's longtime WME/Endeavor partners who engineered the $4 billion UFC buyout and now run TKO.
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