EXCLUSIVE: Steph Curry continues to build out his media empire, and this time he’s shooting for next-gen sports content creators.

Curry and Erick Peyton‘s Unanimous Media has teamed with Bryan Smiley‘s Hard Carry Media to form a joint venture that will act as a sports platform for creators and athletes on social media and YouTube.

The venture will be rooted in NBA star Curry’s sports background, but will act more as a production vehicle. Unanimous and Hard Carry will look to co-develop, produce and distribute creator-led content, formats and scalable IP. This will natively carry on platforms such YouTube and TikTok. The first batch of programs will center on NIL college basketball players.

Golden State Warriors star Curry will make special appearances in select projects, while taking an active role in shaping the creative direction, talent relationships and cultural lens for the JV.

The four-time NBA champion and two-time MVP has been making structured steps into media and filmmaking as his career end draws closer. Earlier this year, his short film, The Baddest Speechwriter of All, which he co-directed by Ben Proudfoot, was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

“We’re excited to partner with Hard Carry Media to build something that reflects how the next generation engages and celebrates sports today,” said Peyton and Curry in a statement to Deadline. “By focusing on format-driven storytelling and empowering athletes and creators to show up authentically, we hope to build a platform where new voices can break through and where sports culture can evolve in a more dynamic, inclusive way.” 

Unanimous has a global talent partnership agreement with NBCUniversal and was also a producer on Goat, the animated basketball pic from Sony Pictures Animation, which was a box office hit in February. Other credits include Prime Video series Allen Iv3rson, Peacock’s Mr. Throwback (in which Curry made his acting debut) and Stephen Curry: Underrated, the Apple TV doc about his rise to stardom. Unanimous also makes a slate of podcasts with iHeartMedia and has a publishing arm that released New York Times bestseller Shot Ready in September 2025.

As for Hard Carry, the deal with Unanimous comes three months after it launched out of L.A., and marks its first push into sports.

Smiley, known for his time as President and Chief Content Officer of Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat, bills the company as a digital media-first media brand-building biz for Gen Z men. Backed by the privately-owned Hard Carry Games, it debuted with a plan to create and acquire a portfolio of digitally-native brands across verticals such as sports, entertainment, comedy, and lifestyle. Hard Carry debuted with Gen Z-focused YouTube channel operator Full Squad, which has accrued more than 11 billion lifetime views, coming under its wing.

Today’s news isn’t the first time Curry and Smiley have worked together. Prior to Hartbeat, Smiley held an exec role at Columbia Pictures, where he led on talent deals, one of which was with Unanimous.

“In the NIL era, fans are forming connections with athletes earlier and far more personally than ever before,” said Smiley, CEO of Hard Carry. “That shift is creating a new kind of fandom that requires a different kind of storytelling. We’re building high-engagement formats that audiences already watch, share, and return to week after week. Sports and athletes are the entry point, but the real product is the format. That’s how you turn athletes into stars and moments into franchises.”