America's Cup and Skydance Sports announced an exclusive partnership

America's Cup and Skydance Sports today announced an exclusive partnership to produce an all-access, behind-the-scenes documentary series on the 37th edition of the America's Cup, the world's pinnacle sailing event and longest-running international sports competition. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the Academy Award-winning directors of the 2018 documentary Free Solo, will executive produce under their Little Monster Films banner alongside their Academy Award-winning Free Solo producer Evan Hayes and his Anomaly Content & Entertainment (ACE) production company, with David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold and Jon Weinbach of Skydance.

For the first time ever, all the teams competing in the iconic sailing event will allow never-before-seen access into their preparations and execution of the race, and the documentary series will showcase the people and the drama – on and off the water – throughout the competition. The 37th America's Cup will take place in September and October of 2024 in Barcelona where the event's defending champions, Emirates Team New Zealand, which has won four Cups since 1995, will be challenged by teams including: United States, American Magic; Great Britain, INEOS Britannia; Italy, Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli; and Switzerland, Alinghi Red Bull Racing.

Vasarhelyi and Chin said: "We love bringing epic stories to life in an emotional way. Great feats of human potential allow the exploration of deep and meaningful character journeys. You don't need to be a climber to love Free Solo. Our approach to telling the story of the 37th America's Cup will be no different. This series is not just for sailing fans; it's a universal tale of perseverance, obsession, rivalry, and teamwork."

Grant Dalton, America's Cup CEO said: "Over the past couple of decades both the America's Cup and the media environment have evolved and matured significantly. The America's Cup is one of the few global sporting events that has played out each edition with very little public understanding of what actually goes on nor the true extent of the talented people or innovation involved. To have the ability to partner with Skydance, Jimmy, Chai and their production team to tell these stories is an amazing opportunity for the growth of the event and the sport of sailing."

Hayes, who also produced the award-winning 2021 documentary Becoming Cousteau, said: "I grew up sailing and have long been fascinated with the America's Cup, one of the greatest international competitions in history. The America's Cup is spectacular in every way. The human drama is intense, the scale is epic, and these boats have never raced faster. As the America's Cup has evolved, so has the untapped potential in telling the stories behind the Cup, as well as showcasing the racing itself. When I first discussed this opportunity with Skydance and my friends Chai & Jimmy, I knew that they would make for an epic team to tell the story of the 37th America's Cup. This is a dream come true project for me, and also presents a unique opportunity for streaming platforms."

Today's announcement is the latest exciting development for Skydance Sports, which recently announced a content partnership with Zebra Valley, the production company of French soccer superstar Kylian Mbappe.

Jon Weinbach, President Skydance Sports said: "America's Cup is one of the world's great sports treasures – an authentically historic event with incredibly dynamic characters, rivalries, action and global scope. This is an enormously exciting project for Skydance Sports, and we're thrilled to be partnering with Jimmy, Chai, Evan and the teams to create a significant and memorable series."

Founded in 1851, the America's Cup is the oldest competition still operating in any international sport today. It is a match race competition, the 'challenging' teams fight it out to determine which is the strongest to then face the current holder of the trophy 'The Defender' in the America's Cup Match. The one-on-one, first to 7 wins race series will decide the winner of the 37th America's Cup. Winning the Cup has been an obsession for many owners, sailors, designers and boat builders with many devoting their life work to it. This complex fascination has proved essential for fans attracted by the speed, innovation, glamour, rivalries and competition between teams from friendly nations. The all access, behind-the-scenes production is a further extension of the growth strategy of the America's Cup to make the event and the sport of sailing available to the widest possible audience globally and telling new, never-before-seen stories from within the team bases.

Launched in 2021, Skydance Sports has quickly become the preeminent studio for leagues, teams, elite athletes and A-List Hollywood talent seeking to produce premium, sports-related entertainment. In addition to the America's Cup docuseries, the studio has several premium projects in production. This month on Prime Video, Skydance Sports will premiere the first-ever global documentary series about the passionate rivalry between the U.S. and Mexican national soccer teams.  The studio is also in production on an untitled film about the birth of the Air Jordan brand, starring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Viola Davis, and directed by Affleck for Prime Video. In addition, Skydance Sports has strategic partnerships with Meadowlark Media, Gotham Chopra's Religion of Sports and Kylian Mbappe's Zebra Valley.