Seaport Entertainment Group

Overview

Seaport Entertainment Group formed in 2011 when former Viacom executive Tom McGrath and journalist-turned-producer Isaac Lee joined forces to build a cross-platform entertainment company. The firm established its physical footprint through a strategic alliance with The Howard Hughes Corporation to revitalize the South Street Seaport district in Lower Manhattan. Bob Iger, then CEO of The Walt Disney Company, served as an advisor during its formative period. The enterprise combines live-event production with content development, anchored by a 3,400-capacity concert hall and a 40,000-square-foot restaurant and market space on Pier 17. Its portfolio spans Broadway-level live theater touring, Latin American film and television development, and digital media production. Known projects include producing the touring stage adaptation of "The Exorcist" and developing content for Latin American audiences through Exacta, a joint venture with a Colombian media group. The firm operates across North and South America, with production hubs in New York and Bogotá. McGrath brought four decades of entertainment operating experience, having previously chaired Viacom's live-entertainment division and produced shows including "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark." Lee, former president of Univision News and a documentary filmmaker, provided the bilingual content development muscle. The firm's personnel count and assets under management remain undisclosed. Its real-estate partnership at the Seaport placed it at the intersection of hospitality, retail leasing, and live entertainment — a hybrid business model not typically seen in pure-play production companies. The firm's structural distinction lies in owning direct real estate infrastructure as a content platform, rather than merely renting venues. By controlling both the stage and the production pipeline, Seaport Entertainment Group attempted to capture revenue across the full vertical — from ticket sales to food-and-beverage spend to subsequent distribution rights. The departure of Iger from his advisory role in 2012 and the pressures on mid-sized independent studios during the streaming consolidation era made this integrated model difficult to sustain at scale.