Inside a Year of Chaos at Kevin Hart’s Media Company

<p>The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy. Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: <a href="http://bit.ly/3vTiACF">http://bit.ly/3vTiACF</a>.<br /><br />When Kevin Hart announced in January that he&rsquo;d licensed his name to Authentic Brands Group, the popular comedian was silent on a key detail: the future of his namesake media company. Hart sold some ownership and oversight of his brand in exchange for an undisclosed sum of money and a stake in Authentic, a New York-based firm that manages the likenesses of Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal and David Beckham. Hart used the partnership with Authentic to reset his relationship with the people around him and his company, according to six current and former employees. Hart&rsquo;s employees say they worry that this deal marks the beginning of the end of Hartbeat, the comedian&rsquo;s namesake media company that produces films, owns a network of short-form video channels and handles marketing for brands. Though the announcement made no mention of Hartbeat, the agreement gave Hart money to buy out his private equity partner in the company over time and regain control of the use of his name, image and likeness. Hart&rsquo;s endorsement deals, which had been a pillar of Hartbeat business, will now be handled by Authentic.<br /><br />For more, Tim Stenovec and Emily Graffeo speak with Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg News Managing Editor, Media &amp; Entertainment and writer of the Bloomberg Screentime Newsletter</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>