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Tubi’s groundbreaking basketball documentary, Shattered Glass: A WNBPA Story, almost didn’t happen.
The film, which premiered Jan. 31 on Tubi in partnership with Puma, gives an all-access, behind-the-scenes look at the lives of WNBA superstars Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart and Nneka Ogwumike, seeing how the MVPs rose to fame when all the odds were stacked against them.
But for the film to succeed, it had an equally difficult path. The doc had been in development for nearly two years, with a deluge of potential partners saying, “No,” brands constantly slamming doors and distribution falling through at the last minute.
However, through sheer will, perseverance and belief in the project, a group of powerful women pulled off a buzzer-beater to bring Shattered Glass to life.
Forming a team
Women driving the success of the documentary is just par for the course, as Jessica McCourt, executive producer and head of partnerships at creative studio Malka, and Terri Carmichael Jackson, executive director of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, were the reason there was any documentary at all.
The pair first met while McCourt worked at OneTeam Partners, handling licensing rights for various players associations. When McCourt departed for Malka, they realized there was a real chance to tell the WNBPA story.
“It feels like forever ago, and I know in terms of moviemaking it’s a short time,” Jackson told ADWEEK. “And partly it feels that way because of so many of the ‘no’s’ we got. We’d be on these calls and Jess [McCourt] was selling her ass off, showing people the vision and the opportunity. And then we wouldn’t get a call back.”
According to McCourt, it took seven to eight months to secure the partnerships and funding to actually make Shattered Glass.
“It’s no surprise to anybody that although there is this rise that’s going on across women’s sports, it is not funded in the same way that men’s sports are, and it was harder to find those pockets of money and those people to give,” added McCourt.
Puma gets into the game
When Puma signed on, things truly got rolling.
The brand first launched its women’s basketball category in 2021 and knew it wanted to make a splash.
“When we got back into basketball as a brand, we said if we’re going to go back into the sport, we’re not only going to go after the men’s game, we’re going to be the brand that really stands for the women’s game as well,” said Allison Giorgio, Puma’s vp of marketing.
