In a historic deal, the African Union of Broadcasters (AUB) has secured exclusive free-to-air rights to “The Road to LA ’28,” a 12-part documentary series following the personal journeys of African athletes as they prepare for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The series is created by a trio of media veterans: executive producer Dan Jawitz, co-founder of Know Associates Entertainment in South Africa; Gary Rathbone, former head of Africa, SuperSport, and former head of sport at Star Times and SABC; and Jonny Cohen, the brand integration pioneer behind the iconic Johnnie Walker “Keep Walking” campaign in Africa.
“The Road to LA ’28″ is being positioned as one of the most ambitious sports storytelling projects undertaken on the continent. Filming will begin at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games and continue over two years, with final delivery slated for May 2028 ahead of the Games.
With AUB as distribution partner and Cape Town-based Moonsport confirmed as a production partner, the producers noted the show now has the infrastructure it needs to move forward.
“With these two partnerships now secured, the producers have in place the key pillars for production and distribution of the series,” Jawitz explained. “That’s a key point because now that the African Union of Broadcasters is secured as our distribution partner and Moonsport as our production partner, which is one of the leading sports production companies in the world, it really is powerful in terms of a partnership. So we can now guarantee the quality and delivery of the show.”
For Jawitz, the project reflects a long-held passion. “I’ve always been very passionate about African art, culture, and sport. Those are the main focuses of my documentary work,” he reflects. “My mission in life is for Africans to see themselves in as many ways and formats as possible.”
The series will feature “gold protagonists,” athletes most likely to qualify and succeed, alongside “silver stories” of hopefuls and their support networks, as well as more social portraits of athletes whose journeys may not lead to medals. “The series doesn’t just focus on the athletes. It focuses on the world of the athletes,” Jawitz explains. “Hopefully, it will be inspiring for people to see the story beyond the sport.”
Securing AUB was critical to that mission. “The reason we chose to reach out to the AUB is because the biggest African audiences are in free-to-air television,” Jawitz emphasizes. “Our continent is very unequal. And most people don’t have access to streaming. We wanted this to be as accessible as possible, so that anyone anywhere can watch it, and that it can become event television.”
Episodes will air twice weekly in primetime across AUB’s member broadcasters during the 12 weeks leading into the 2028 Olympics. The producers are also in talks with “a number of global streamers” for additional distribution.
Beyond broadcast, “The Road to LA ’28” will integrate an e-commerce component, with merchandise designed exclusively by African artists. “What we want to do is create an iconic brand for the series, so that African artists can produce works that we can put onto T-shirts and merchandise for the show, giving them further visibility,” Jawitz shared enthusiastically.
Production will span multiple countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Senegal, and Botswana. The project represents a major financial undertaking, with Olympic archive rights expected to account for a substantial portion of the budget. “This is going to be one of the biggest series ever produced by Africans in Africa, across a production schedule spanning two and a half years,” Jawitz remarked.
While the scale is daunting, Jawitz believes the emotional core will resonate across borders. “Africans have an intense sense of pride about our continent and even though we are so diverse, we feel very, very strongly connected,” he beams. “The hope is that the stories we tell resonate in the sense that somebody sitting in Mali, and somebody sitting in Harare, and somebody sitting in Addis, can all share in the joy, and the pain, and the journey itself for each of these athletes.”
That sense of visibility also extends to the project’s relationship with the Olympic movement itself. Kirsty Coventry, the Zimbabwean Olympic champion, now serves as the first African President of the International Olympic Committee. Jawitz viewed her leadership as further proof that “Road to LA ’28” aligns with a moment when Africa has “a real chance to shine” within global sport.
“It’s going to be a real game changer,” he concluded.