Leading independent producer RIVR Media has announced the upcoming launch of RIVR Studios, comprised of multiple full-service, COVID-compliant studio spaces in Knoxville, one of the fastest-growing U.S. hubs for TV and film production.
Opening this summer, RIVR Studios will diversify RIVR Media’s business as a long established producer of popular series for leading U.S. cable networks. Located among the Southeast’s largest media markets, the fully equipped studios will be a new resource for producers of content, including unscripted and scripted series, films, branded content and advertising.
RIVR Media is jointly led by veteran producer and entrepreneur Dee Haslam, managing partner of the Cleveland Browns, investor operator of the Columbus Crew and CEO of Haslam Sports Group; and Emmy-nominated Showrunner and CEO Lori Golden-Stryer. The two executives first joined forces 20 years ago and continue their working partnership at RIVR Media.
Following Haslam’s appointment of Golden-Stryer as CEO in 2019, they have together been accelerating the growth of a business that has become a femaleled success story.
RIVR Studios is a partnership between RIVR Media and industry veteran Bob Baskerville, formerly EVP, Digital and Media Operations at Discovery Inc., where he led the company’s U.S. portfolio of production and post-production services. Baskerville, one of the founders of HGTV, has led multiple businesses and technology initiatives throughout his 20-plus years with Scripps Networks, including the company’s portfolio of digital lifestyle brands and international channels business. Baskerville will serve as President of RIVR Studios.
In recent years, RIVR Media has grown to become one of the most prolific creators of factual and lifestyle content in the U.S., with a diverse portfolio that includes series for Discovery, HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Animal Planet, A&E, Lifetime, Oxygen, ESPN and more. Since launching in 1999, RIVR Media has produced thousands of shows for U.S. cable networks across genres including docu-soaps, reality competitions, documentaries, true crime series, makeover shows, game shows, travel series, and sports entertainment.