WeWork Wanted to Land Video Deals With NBC and Martin Scorsese
The projects, which haven’t panned out, highlight the company’s goal to be seen as more than a real estate business.
Adam Neumann CEO of WeWork and Ashton Kutcher speak onstage during Nashville Creator Awards hosted by WeWork at Marathon Music Works on September 13, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Photographer: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for the WeWork Creator Awards
For the past two years, WeWork Cos. has spent more than $40 million to host a series of startup pitch competitions around the world. The real estate company asks contestants to pitch apps or creative projects to celebrity panels of judges and compete for cash prizes, in between musical performances from the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. This year, it hoped to go much bigger.
WeWork teamed up with Ashton Kutcher to pitch a television show to NBC based on the contest, known as the Creator Awards, according to two people familiar with the talks. The show would be similar to Shark Tank and have camera crews follow contestants around the events. The project hasn’t panned out, though, and is currently on hold.