Candle Media’s Exile Content Nabs stake in the Lil’ Heroes NFT franchise
Latin-focused content powerhouse Exile Content Studio has taken a majority stake in the Lil’ Heroes NFT Franchise that will soon spawn a series featuring NBA star Carmelo Anthony.
He will voice and manage the show through his company, Creative7 Productions.
The news comes in the wake of Exile’s acquisition at the end of May by Candle Media, the next generation media company founded by Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs. Said Mayer and Staggs, who serve as co-CEOs: “We are excited to expand Exile’s partnership with Lil’ Heroes, a dynamic new franchise with a deeply engaged community, and a great example of how digitally native IP can engage audiences through various platforms, products and experiences.”
Created by Spanish contemporary artist Edgar Plans, Lil’ Heroes was launched through an NFT collaboration with Exile and NFT studio Curatible. By acquiring Curatible’s interest, Exile now has a majority stake in the Lil’ Heroes franchise as it enters its next phase of growth.
Daniel Eilemberg, who has been named CEO of the Lil’ Heroes franchise said, “We are grateful to Edgar Plans for his tremendous contribution to the successful launch of Lil’ Heroes, and we are excited to expand our ownership interest as we continue to work with Edgar to grow the franchise and community in Web3 and beyond.” Eilemberg’s replacement as Exile’s content manager will be announced shortly.
Exile and Plans is creating a Lil’ Heroes spin-off NFT collection, Lil’ Villains, apart from the animated TV series later this summer.
The Lil’ Heroes NFT collection first launched in January 2022, generating over $60 million in trade volume and reaching over 80,000 members on Discord, with ambassadors including the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Maria Ressa, J BalvinDJ Khaled, Will I be and Anthony who have all had Lil’ Heroes likenesses made in their honor.
Founded in 2019 by former Univision and Televisa chief content officer Isaac Lee, Exile creates content in Spanish and English for a global audience across multiple platforms – TV, film, audio and digital.
Recent projects include “Todo Va A Estar Bien,” co-produced with Diego Luna for Netflix; the docu-series “Un Sueño Real,” in collaboration with journalist Ana Pastor for HBO; and the podcast “Sacred Scandal.” Upcoming shows include a J. Balvin-hosted docu-series, “Gente Sana,” set to air on NBC this fall.
Backed by investment capital from funds managed by Blackstone’s flagship private equity business, Candle Media owns a number of brands that include Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, global children’s production company Moonbug Entertainment, Israeli studio Faraway Road Prods. and gen Z social video company ATTN. It also has a 10% stake in Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook.
