About
ABOUT
Video: YouTube.com/CU360
Social: @CloseUp360
CloseUp360 (CU360) is an Emmy-nominated media platform and production company focused on NBA and WNBA players, star athletes and sports insiders, and their impact beyond the game.
Embodying "The Players' World Beyond the Game," CloseUp360 provides an immersive look into every facet of athletes' lives—from their personal journeys and career development to their hometown impact, global experiences, lifestyle pursuits, family connections and more—offering a comprehensive, 360-degree perspective that extends far beyond competition. NBA champion, Miami Heat assistant coach, accomplished entrepreneur, best-selling author and Emmy Award-winning producer Caron Butler serves as CloseUp360's strategic player advisor.
Over the past seven years, CloseUp360 has collaborated with hundreds of NBA players—including Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Jayson Tatum and Dwyane Wade—through long-standing relationships built on trust. With a focus on exclusive storytelling, we've produced more than 150 long-form features, including our Emmy-nominated 90-minute documentary with NFL star Trent Williams, along with thousands of original social videos and lifestyle photos. Our productions have also taken us around the world, working with stars such as Kobe Bryant in China, Kyle Kuzma in Paris and Jaime Jaquez Jr. in Milan.
Beyond storytelling, CloseUp360 has helped elevate athletes' off-the-court brands, partnered with some of the biggest names in sports—including NBA 2K and State Farm—and created signature experiences around premier sporting and cultural events such as NBA All-Star Weekend, NBA Summer League and Art Basel Miami. As the company has grown, so has its storytelling, expanding beyond the NBA to feature WNBA, NCAA and NFL athletes.
CloseUp360 was founded by Jared Zwerling, an accomplished sports media and marketing veteran whose career has spanned the NBA, CBS Sports, ESPN, Bleacher Report, the National Basketball Players Association and Sports Illustrated. Throughout his career, Jared developed a niche in off-the-court storytelling, exploring the intersection of sports, culture, lifestyle and business. That experience inspired him to build CloseUp360 into a specialized global media and production company dedicated to telling meaningful stories that reveal the people behind the performances.
PARTNERS
CloseUp360’s exclusive global marketing agent is Alliance Media, an established international media company that owns and operates TV stations and OTT services. Alliance Media has decades of experience in the generation, aggregation and distribution of sports and entertainment content across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America, as well as building top sports channels worldwide.
To inquire about global content partnerships, please e-mail Alliance senior executive Sai Srinivasan at sai@alliance-media.tv.
PlayersTV is a television network dedicated to athlete lifestyle and culture entertainment. It reaches 300 million households (200 million in the U.S. and 100 million in Europe) through its partners DirecTV, Fire TV, Freevee, FuboTV, Local Now, Philo, Sling and YouTube TV.
Another partner, ReachTV, is North America's largest airport television network, broadcasting 24/7 across more than 2,500 screens in 90 commercial airports. Reaching more than 50 million monthly viewers, ReachTV also extends its footprint into more than 500,000 hotel rooms.
PlayersTV's pro athlete partners include NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, De’Aaron Fox, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Jordan, Damian Lillard, C.J. McCollum, Chris Paul and P.J. Tucker, WNBA stars Alysha Clark and Chiney Ogwumike, and NFL stars Vernon Davis, Travis Kelce and Russell Wilson.
Ballislife is the biggest basketball network in the U.S. with 23 million followers across all social, including 8.1 million Instagram followers and 4.38 million YouTube subscribers. Overall, it's one of the top 10 sports media companies on social, according to Shareablee.
ClutchPoints is one of the 6 most engaged sports media brands in the U.S., according to Shareablee, with millions of followers (including 3 million on Facebook and 1 million on Instagram), 42 million monthly unique website views and 400,000 monthly users on its app.
EssentiallySports is one of the top 10 sports publishers in the U.S., according to Comscore, reaching more than 30 million sports fans every month. The independent media platform delivers original reporting, exclusive interviews and in-depth storytelling across the NBA, NFL, WNBA, golf, tennis, NASCAR and more.
LEADERSHIP
Founder and President
It was only a matter of time.
The journey began when I started writing for my school newspaper at eight years old. My first story was about an ambidextrous pitcher on our high school baseball team. I couldn't stop wondering: How could he throw 90 miles per hour with either arm? It turned out he had broken one arm and trained the other until it became just as strong.
At 18, I landed my first professional writing job as the youngest staff writer at Community Newspapers in my hometown of Miami. With my own business cards in one hand and a camera in the other, I set out to uncover the stories that shaped Miami—from its people and neighborhoods to its businesses, communities and sports.
The rest of the time was spent fueling my burning passion for basketball.
After undergraduate and sports business graduate school at New York University, I started covering the NBA regularly. I wanted to unearth everything surrounding the game: the culture, the lifestyle, the business. I was drawn to the off-the-court side of sports, where I carved out my niche and went on to create positions covering that world at Bleacher Report, the National Basketball Players Association and Sports Illustrated.
That curiosity to find and create opportunities ultimately led to CloseUp360. What began through the lens of basketball has evolved into a platform dedicated to telling meaningful stories across sports. While the athletes, leagues and competitions may differ, the mission remains the same: to reveal the people behind the performances and explore the passions, communities, cultures and journeys that shape them.
Writing, creativity and storytelling had always come naturally to me, but it was really the desire to advocate for athletes as people, elevate sports storytelling and positively influence the next generation that sparked CloseUp360.
Watching my mom lead community organizations and my dad manage a medical practice with his partners, I always envisioned building a company with purpose. At the heart of watching my parents help others was an appreciation for people—who they really are, their lives, journeys, pursuits, emotions and everything in between.
Sports media is in a challenging place when it comes to truly understanding and profiling athletes. Today's landscape—driven by hot takes, viral moments and surface-level content—has caused many athletes to become more guarded with the media. The result is an incomplete picture of who they are beyond competition, and a missed opportunity for young people who benefit from authentic role models, thoughtful conversations and meaningful perspectives. Sports are entertainment, but the athletes, coaches and leaders who shape them have so much more to offer than what happens during the game.
We are here to take you closeup to athletes and influential figures through a unique 360-degree lens—showcasing them as complete people through trust, quality, credibility, authenticity and genuine storytelling.
For everyone who has helped me along the way, thank you. I look forward to continuing this journey together.
Athlete Advisor and Producer
After a stellar 14-year NBA playing career, which included winning an NBA championship with Dallas in 2011 and a pair of All-Star appearances with Washington in 2007 and 2008, Caron returned home to Miami, where his NBA career began.
The 2020-21 season marked his initial foray into the world of coaching as he joined Erik Spoelstra’s staff as an assistant coach. Caron, who was universally respected throughout his playing career, was known for both his physical and mental toughness—traits that have made him a valuable asset to both the coaching staff and players.
In addition to Miami, Caron's playing career included stops in Los Angeles with both the Lakers and Clippers, Washington, Dallas, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Detroit and Sacramento.
Upon retiring as a player, the Racine, Wisconsin native also excelled off the court as a broadcaster. He joined ESPN as a college game analyst in 2017 before joining Turner Sports as an NBA analyst in 2018. He filled numerous roles with Turner Sports, including being featured on NBA TV’s signature studio show, NBA Game Time, and NBA on TNT’s Players Only franchise.
Caron also earned acclaim hosting the “NBA Together” initiative during COVID and the social justice movement. He has also worked as a studio analyst for Spectrum SportsNet’s coverage of the Lakers and worked as an occasional game analyst for the Wizards during the 2019-20 season. In addition, he has hosted a podcast, Tuff Juice, and in 2015 wrote an autobiography that's being produced into a biopic.
Caron and his wife, Andrea, reside in Miami and have a son, James Caron Jr. (J.C.), who plays professional basketball, and four daughters, Camary, Mia, Ava and Gia.
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