Woodward Sports co-founder buys majority stake, takes CEO role

What's the deal? Joey Namou, co-founder of Detroit digital sports media platform Woodward SportsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, has acquired a majority stake in the company in a seven-figure transaction and been named chief executive officer. The deal gives Namou full control of a network he co-founded in 2020, which now reaches more than 700,000 followers and generates millions of monthly views across video, social, and podcast platforms.

Why now? Woodward Sports has hit an inflection point. The company just moved into a nearly 3,500-square-foot studio in downtown Royal Oak, Michigan, and produces four daily live shows — more than eight hours of local programming each day. With a loyal, predominantly Detroit-based audience already in place, the ownership transition sets the stage for expansion beyond sports into broader cultural and community content.

Namou, known as "Joey Radio," brings nearly 15 years in Detroit media. He started with an internship at iHeartRadio's Mojo in the Morning after studying accounting, and pivoted into media, marketing, and entrepreneurship.

"From day one, our goal was to build a platform that truly represents Detroit sports fans," Namou said. "We're focused on growing Woodward Sports into something even bigger — not just in sports, but in culture, community, and storytelling."

What could go wrong? Regional digital sports media is a crowded, volatile space. Woodward Sports depends heavily on a single metro audience, which limits its revenue ceiling. Scaling beyond Detroit while keeping the hyperlocal identity that fuels fan loyalty is a delicate balancing act. A seven-figure deal also means Namou is betting significant personal capital on a business model — ad-supported digital sports content — that remains challenging industrywide.

The signal: Woodward Sports sits at the "early growth" stage according to Dealroom, and a founder-led buyout at this phase is a notable bet on the viability of hyperlocal digital sports media as a standalone business. With legacy regional outlets shrinking and national networks struggling to serve city-level fanbases, creator-owned platforms are emerging as the default home for passionate local audiences — though converting that loyalty into a scalable revenue model remains the sector's defining challenge.

Read more: pulse2.com