MUMBAI: Facebook Watch is in talks to develop a reality show with Cristiano Ronaldo, Variety reports.
The Portuguese superstar may get paid about $10 million for a 13-episode show on the social-media giant’s video platform for TV-style content, according to the publication.
Variety, however, noted that the sources it contacted differed on how advanced the negotiations were; with one saying a deal was close to being finalized while another characterized the talks as nascent.
According to the report, CAA is packaging the series, to be produced by Matador Content and Religion of Sports, a sports-media firm founded by Gotham Chopra (American author, filmmaker and entrepreneur and son of world famous alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra), Michael Strahan, Tom Brady and production company Dirty Robber.
Ronaldo has more than 120 million followers for his official Facebook page, making him the most popular athlete on the social network. The Real Madrid striker is also one of the most-recognized sports celebrities worldwide.
The development follows on from Facebook Watch in May giving a series commitment with penalty to a scripted drama from Ronaldo, Memphis Beat creators Liz Garcia and Josh Harto, and Paul Lee independent studio wiip.
The untitled show is about a diverse high-school girls football team in upstate New York that inspires the local community to overcome racial, ethnic and class differences. Facebook Watch’s sports-related programming is particularly popular on the platform. Basketball reality show “Ball in the Family” has 1.5 million followers on Facebook Watch, Variety further reports.
