| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Casey Wasserman |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 65 |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | TBD |
| Services | TBD |
Number of employees | 3500 |
| Divisions | TBD |
| Subsidiaries | TBD |
| Website | teamwass |
Wasserman is a global marketing, management, representation and media company headquartered in Los Angeles. Focused on sports, music, entertainment and culture, Wasserman has 3500 employees [1] in 23 countries on six continents. The company was founded by CEO and chairman Casey Wasserman in 2002.
History
editWasserman was founded as the Wasserman Media Group in Los Angeles in 2002.[2] The company initially focused on athlete representation and sports marketing; its early acquisitions included The Familie, a representation agency for action sports athletes, OnSport, a sports, entertainment, and marketing practice based in Raliegh, North Carolina, [3] and the Carlsbad-based sports marketing and naming rights agency, Envision. [4]
With active divisions centered on basketball and baseball in the US, Wasserman purchased the European subsidiary of SFX Sports in 2006 to become the largest talent marketing and representation company in global football. [5] [6] In 2013, Wasserman represented the No.1 overall draft picks in five professional sports: men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, soccer and football. [7]
Rebranded from Wasserman Media Group to Wasserman in 2016, [8] in 2019 the company launched The Collective. a division founded to connect female athletes with major companies and raise their visibility with consumers and fans. [9]
Wassernan expanded its presence in Europe during the 2010s and early 2020s with the acquisition of companies including UK football agency Key Sports Management,[10] Spanish football agency Top Value Players, [11] global hockey firm ACME World Sports, and the international basketball agencies Baltic and SEM. In 2020, Forbes ranked Wassserman as the second-most valuable sports agency in the world, reporting that the company had approximately $5.7 billion in contracts under management. In 2021, Forbes estimated that the figure had grown to $7.68 billion.
After negotiating for more than a year, Wasserman entered the music industry with the acquisition of Paradigm Talent Agency’s North American live music assets in March 2021 and its UK music representation business in 2022. [12] In total, more than 200 Paradigm employees in 14 countries and 30 cities joined the Wasserman staff.[13] In October 2023 the acquisition of the UK-headquartered CSM Sports & Entertainment was completed. With the integration of CSM, Wasserman added 1200 employees working in 20 locations worldwide and created three new service divisions: Wasserman Live, Wasserman Rights Sales, and Wasserman Hospitality Sales.[14]
In September 2023 Wasserman acquired the talent management and content production company Brillstein Entertainment Partners. In addition to actors, digital creators, podcasters and professional video game players were added to Wasserman's roster. [15]Casey Wasserman, who opted out of the traditional entertainment industry at the start of his career, stated that the changes in the media industry required the company to think differently about how sports and music talent were represented. In an interview with The New York Times, Wasserman said he intended to expand Brillstein’s television and film production business.[16]
As of 2024, Wasserman's clients included (athletes), (actors), (brands). (Selected list, alphabetical).
Divisions and practices
edit(Alphabetical list, which could include the acquisitions that led to the creation of the practices.
Subsidiaries
edit(List)
References
edit- ^ Turvill, William (2024-08-26). "Hollywood's super agent: why the business of sport will only get bigger". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
- ^ Mims, Taylor (2024-02-08). "Casey Wasserman on Music, Sports & the 'False Theory' of Stars Who Can Do Both". Billboard. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
- ^ "Wasserman acquires OnSport". Golfweek. 2002-02-26. Retrieved 2024-08-26.
- ^ "Markazi: Need an NFL owner? Wasserman fits". ESPN.com. 2011-01-25. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
- ^ Grover, Ronald (April 1, 2007). "The Making of A Sports Mogul:". Bloomberg (Business Week). pp. 62–64. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
- ^ "The Power 100 (Cover Story)". Business Week. October 8, 2007. pp. 52–57.
- ^ Barnes, Brooks (2013-07-06). "A Sports Agent With Hollywood in His Blood". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ "Rebrand simplifies name to 'Wasserman'". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. 2016-02-22. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ Draper, Kevin (2019-07-11). "With a World Cup Boost, an Agent Bets on Female Athletes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ "Wasserman bolsters football presence with Key acquisition". SportBusiness. 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ "Wasserman Acquires Spanish Football Agency Top Value". www.sportsbusinessjournal.com. 2020-06-17. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ Sakui, Anousha (2021-04-21). "Casey Wasserman launches new live music company". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ Speer, Debbie (2022-04-26). "Wasserman Completes Deal For Paradigm's UK Music Business - Pollstar News". Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ Saleh, Tariq (2024-03-19). "Wasserman launches three new business units with CSM integration". Sportcal. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ Lee, Wendy (2023-09-18). "Wasserman acquires storied Hollywood talent manager Brillstein Entertainment Partners". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
- ^ Barnes, Brooks (2023-09-18). "Wasserman Merges Sports and Entertainment by Buying Brillstein". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-26.