The Birth of Merlins Immersive – From Screen to Streets

Merlins Immersive began not in sports — but in music.

Our immersive journey started around the time of the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, when, alongside our creative partners Crossmedia Group in Florence, Italy, we explored how fans might one day experience an entire musical catalogue — every album, every era, every story — not just on screens or stages, but inside a fully immersive world.

The vision was to translate music into physical environments. To allow fans to walk through sound, memory, fashion, and emotion. The experience was designed, developed, and presented for future consideration.

As anyone familiar with Taylor Swift’s organization understands, decisions are never made by a single individual — they are made collectively, by a highly aligned and creative team. Ultimately, the project did not materialize, as the artist chose to move in another direction.

But no creative process is ever wasted.

What emerged from that development phase — and what visitors can see reflected today in the Merlins visual language — was the extraordinary imagination and technical artistry of the Florence team. Their work became the foundation of what Merlins would grow into.

From that point forward, we pivoted.

We expanded our vision into sports, film, and culture — and later into emerging technologies, including AI — using innovation not to replace creativity, but to extend it. To help transform stories, scripts, archives, and even classical literature into immersive experiences. One early example can be seen in the team’s interpretation of Dante’s Inferno, where written narrative becomes a living environment.

Our Italian partners went on to design immersive concepts for MotoGP (now under Liberty Media, owners of Formula One), with a vision of enabling fans to fully engage with the sport beyond the track. They also developed immersive experiences for ACF Fiorentina, and in film, created a touring exhibition for the beloved classic Cinema Paradiso.

Through these projects, a realization became clear.

We could create magic for fans.

We coined the phrase Screen to Streets — the idea that what once lived only on screens could be brought into the real world.

Suddenly, the possibilities were limitless.

The Lakers era with Kobe.

The legacy of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

A Blue Jays vs. Dodgers World Series moment.

The worlds of The Matrix or Star Wars.

Stories, dynasties, and cinematic universes could be transformed into physical journeys — environments fans could walk through, feel, and remember.

And just like music tours, these experiences could tour the world.

The vaults of Netflix, Warner Bros., Paramount, NBC Sports, and countless studios are filled with stories that have already had their moment on screen. Through Merlins, and through our creative partnership in Florence, those stories can now be brought to the streets — re-imagined as intimate, emotional, and unforgettable fan experiences.

This is the future we believe in.

A future where technology meets creativity.

Where innovation supports artistry.

Where stories leave the screen and enter the real world.

AI plays a role — but only as an instrument. Its purpose is to assist an already world-class creative team, helping accelerate design, visualization, and storytelling. As new technologies emerge, we adopt them thoughtfully, always in service of imagination.

This philosophy has become one of the core pillars of Merlins Sports Entertainment.

This is Merlins Immersive.

And this is Screen to Streets.

Beyond the Grand Prix – Micro Dramas

Beyond the Grand Prix is a micro-drama series that goes beyond the paddock and into the soul of each host city.

We turn our lens toward the people working in the shadows — stars of their own craft — the ones who give every Grand Prix its unique heartbeat and flavor. The essentials. The culture builders. The atmosphere makers.

From chefs, baristas, and mixologists to street-food creators and late-night legends, we explore the hands and minds shaping each city’s vibe. Alongside them, we take to the streets for live conversations with fans who have traveled from around the world to be part of race week.

Beyond the Grand Prix looks you in the eye.

We film with the latest mobile technology — phones and miniature cameras — nothing obtrusive. In a world already fluent in selfies and social storytelling, this approach keeps everything natural, immediate, and real. The micro-dramas unfold in the rhythm of the street, capturing chefs at work, chance encounters, raw reactions, and unfiltered moments.

No sets. No barriers. No performance.

Just the streets. The craft. The people.

Each story ends the same way — with a shared pause, a human moment, and a toast in a glass of Champagne Carbon.

This is not just about what happens on the track.

It’s about what happens around it.

Where speed meets soul.

Where motorsport meets culture.

Where the city becomes the story.

Beyond the Grand Prix.

Beyond the Grand Prix at Merlins Sports Entertainment

Merlins, NBC 30 Rock, Screen to Streets Launch Podcast Ep1

In 1998, Merlins Sports Entertainment was not launched in a boardroom or studio lot.

It was born on the road — between manufacturing floors, city streets, and television history.

At the time, the Merlins team was in San Francisco at Ball Metal, overseeing the first-ever can run for the Merlins Energy Source beverage. The brand was taking physical form, transitioning from concept to product.

While traveling through the city, the team noticed something unexpected:

a public transit bus carrying a large advertisement for the Merlin mini-series airing on NBC.

The coincidence was impossible to ignore.

Without hesitation, the Merlins team contacted a long-time friend and supporter, Daniel Sarnoff — grandson of General David Sarnoff, the founder of NBC and one of the architects of modern broadcasting.

Daniel reached out directly to NBC.

Shortly after, instructions came back:

Two cases of the Merlins beverage were to be sent to NBC Burbank, California, and two additional cases to NBC headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

NBC executives reviewed the product. Alongside it, Merlins made a forward-thinking request — permission to incorporate the NBC Peacock logo on drink menus and promotional materials for the launch.

NBC approved.

What followed was not just a beverage release, but a new approach to brand storytelling.

For the first time, a concept that lived on television screens was intentionally brought into street-level spaces — bars, restaurants, nightlife venues, and supermarkets. Television culture moved outward, into everyday environments.

To activate the launch, Merlins introduced its first Street Team, inspired by pop-culture heroines and the spirit of Wonder Woman. Known as the Merlins Warriors, they embodied visibility, movement, and direct connection with fans.

This moment — in 1998, anchored at NBC’s 30 Rock — marked the origin of what would later be defined as Merlins’ core philosophy:

Screen to Streets.

Not a campaign.

Not a tagline.

A belief that stories don’t end on screens — they continue in crowds, cities, and shared real-world experiences.

More than two decades later, the same philosophy drives Merlins’ podcasts, films, immersive exhibitions, and street-level storytelling around the world.

Episode 1 – 30 Rock Launch – YouTube

What Swifties in Singapore Taught Us About Screen to Streets

Some of our most experimental ideas didn’t come from technology. They came from conversations. This is how the Eras Tour influenced Merlins Screen to Streets thinking – because the magic is on the streets.

While traveling, we spent time speaking with fans — Swifties — around the Eras Tour stop in Singapore. What stood out wasn’t the concert itself, but how people arrived there. Fans came from across Asia, Europe, Australia — many countries converging on one city. For a few days, Singapore wasn’t just a host city. It became a shared emotional space.

People weren’t talking about set-lists or production. They talked about the journey.

The streets. The energy. The feeling of being surrounded by others who had traveled just as far — emotionally and geographically — to be there. It became clear that the experience of culture doesn’t begin on stage. It begins in the city.

That realization stayed with us.

At Merlins, our Screen to Streets thinking grew from moments like this — where fandom spills beyond venues and into cafés, sidewalks, queues, and late-night conversations. Where excitement isn’t observed from afar, but felt from inside the crowd. Those conversations helped shape our curiosity around presence, first-person perspective, and capturing moments as they’re lived — not performed.

The technology came later. The insight came first. That’s where our micro-dramas begin.