EXCLUSIVE: An X Games competition series could be heading to the small screen after The Challenge producer Bunim/Murray Productions struck a deal with the action sports events company.
The Banijay-owned producer is working up X Games Battleground, a series that will unite 30 of the most iconic and influential X Games athletes in a competition format.
It comes as the company is celebrating 30th anniversary of the brand, which started during the summer of 1995 in Rhode Island and has been responsible for Tony Hawk’s first 900 in the Skateboard Vert competition and Travis Pastrana’s Double Backflip in the Moto X Best Trick competition.
The event involves sports such as skateboarding, BMX, freestyle motocross, skiing and snowboarding. It has also featured musical artists including Metallica, Tiesto, Nicki Minaj and Macklemore.
It was founded by ESPN and aired on the sports network and sister channel ABC, although ESPN sold the property to private equity company MSP Sports Capital in 2022.
In X Games Battleground, current stars and past champions will return for a one-of-a-kind competition. It will crown the top all-around female and male X Games competitors of 2025, as they face high-octane challenges inspired by the history of the games. Bunim/Murray will take out to streamers and broadcasters later this summer.
Bunim/Murray, best known for producing The Real World and competition series The Challenge, which is returning for Season 41 on MTV, is also behind series such as Paramount+’s The Family Stallone and a new docuseries featuring the embattled Chrisley family for Lifetime. Its parent company Banijay also recently launched a Banijay Sports arm.
“X Games is the world’s leader in action sports competition, and we’re thrilled to be developing an unscripted series with many of the top X Games athletes that will showcase the fearless, extreme action that fans from across the globe have enjoyed for decades,” said Julie Pizzi, President & CEO, Bunim/Murray Productions.
“X Games Battleground will be raw and intense—uniting legends and rising stars in a fresh format. It’s part of our strategy to tell deeper athlete stories beyond the field of play and bring fans closer to our athletes,” added X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom.
