Jamie Horowitz’s Executive Strategy Expands Places Franchise into Lacrosse Programming

Omaha Productions launched Rabil’s Places on June 4, 2025, marking the company’s ninth Places franchise entry and first expansion into lacrosse programming. Hosted by Premier Lacrosse League co-founder Paul Rabil, the five-episode ESPN+ series explores lacrosse’s roots, culture, and future through conversations with icons and innovators across five weekly Wednesday premieres through July 2.

Horowitz builds franchise expansion through established production protocols while customizing content for specialized sports audiences. “This series continues our mission of giving athletes a platform to tell their own stories, in their own voices,” Horowitz explained regarding the lacrosse expansion. “Paul brings a unique combination of credibility, curiosity, and charisma that makes Rabil’s Places a natural next step for the franchise.”

Episodes feature legendary football coach Bill Belichick discussing his lacrosse background, former WWE star Mick Foley exploring goalie techniques, and Native American lacrosse traditions through Onondaga Nation and Seneca Nation representatives. These diverse guest appearances connect different sports and entertainment communities through shared athletic experiences.

Content Portfolio Diversification Through Host Selection

Places franchise expansion now encompasses programming across nine different sports, each hosted by respected athletes including Stephanie McMahon (wrestling), Abby Wambach (soccer), Vince Carter (basketball), David Ortiz (baseball), and John McEnroe (tennis). Each series follows similar documentary formats featuring historical exploration and personal narratives that appeal beyond traditional sports broadcasting demographics.

Paul Rabil’s selection demonstrates Horowitz’s methodology for identifying athletes whose credibility enables authentic storytelling across diverse audience segments. As both Premier Lacrosse League co-founder and National Lacrosse Hall of Famer, Rabil provides unique perspectives on traditional game elements and modern competitive evolution that competitors cannot easily replicate.

Programming serves passionate but underserved fan bases concentrated in specific geographic regions and collegiate environments. Content development required extensive research into Native American traditions, collegiate programs, and professional league development to create authentic storytelling that respects the sport’s cultural significance while appealing to ESPN+ subscribers seeking diverse sports entertainment.

“Paul is the perfect person to tell the stories that make lacrosse the sport that it is today,” Manning noted as executive producer. “As a former player and entrepreneur, he is so close to the game that he loves and that shines through in this series.”

Platform Integration Maximizes Distribution Value

ESPN+ distribution provides consistent platform relationships while ensuring content availability across Hulu and Disney+ for Disney Bundle Trio subscribers, maximizing audience reach without additional marketing costs. Multi-platform availability creates revenue optimization through subscription retention and cross-promotional opportunities within Disney’s content ecosystem.

Content licensing through ESPN’s 2034 commitment provides long-term revenue stability that supports continued expansion into additional sports and athlete partnerships. Each new franchise entry builds credibility for subsequent collaborations while generating content libraries valuable for licensing and syndication opportunities across multiple distribution platforms.

Production efficiency enables Jamie Horowitz to manage comprehensive Places franchise development alongside Netflix documentaries, ESPN live programming, and other Omaha Productions content simultaneously. Established relationships with ESPN+ reduce development costs while proven storytelling templates accelerate time-to-market for specialized sports programming.

Business Model Scalability Validates Expansion

Jamie Horowitz business model leverages successful content formats across multiple sports without requiring substantial infrastructure changes for each new franchise entry. Rabil’s Places episodes demonstrate this scalability through consistent production values and interview formats that maintain brand identity while adapting content specifically for lacrosse audiences.

Company valuation of approximately $800 million reflects investor confidence in franchise scalability and expansion potential across multiple sports and entertainment verticals. Recent Silver Lake investment demonstrates Wall Street recognition of the Places model’s commercial viability under current executive leadership.

Revenue diversification through franchise expansion reduces business risk while creating sustainable income streams across varied sports markets. Omaha Productions currently serves as executive producer on Emmy Award-winning programming, Netflix documentaries, and comprehensive Places franchise entries, demonstrating operational capacity for simultaneous productions across multiple platforms and audience segments.

Industry trends toward streaming platform competition for differentiated sports content create continued opportunities for franchise expansion across niche sports categories. Horowitz’s methodology for athlete partnerships and authentic storytelling provides competitive advantages through established platform relationships, proven content formats, and comprehensive athlete network effects that competitors struggle to replicate across diverse sports markets.