It’s no secret that former President Barack Obama is a big basketball fan. Now the company he founded with his wife Michelle Obama is getting into the basketball podcast space.
Their company, Higher Ground, is partnering with the basketball podcast The Young Man and the Three (YM3) as its executive producer and creative partner.
YM3 is hosted by Tommy Alter (it was a spinoff of The Old Man and the Three, which Alter co-founded with now-Lakers coach JJ Redick), and is set to return for its new season on Thursday, with guests including Jalen Williams, Jared McCain and Ajay Mitchell. Obama himself is a former guest on the show.
Higher Ground is no stranger to basketball. It was a producer on the Netflix docuseries Starting 5 as well as the Olympics-focused Court of Gold. Still, the deal with YM3 gives it significant foothold in basketball podcasts, betting that it an help the platform expand.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome the Higher Ground team to the YM3 Family,” said Tommy Alter. “There are not many bigger NBA and WNBA supporters on earth than the Obamas, and President Obama’s appearance on the inaugural episode of the show was an amazing springboard for the show and its growing community. The entire YM3 team and our rotating group of contributing player correspondents are so excited to welcome them to the group.”
“YM3 has built a special basketball platform that feels deeply connected to the people, personalities and culture around the game,” added Dan Fierman, head of podcasts at Higher Ground. “Because basketball has always been an important part of the Higher Ground ecosystem, this is a particularly exciting fit for us. We’re thrilled to partner with the YM3 team and help expand on what they’ve created as the platform enters its next chapter.”