What Matchstick Productions does

Matchstick Productions is a privately held, founder-owned ski film production company founded in 1992 and headquartered in Crested Butte, Colorado. Operating under the MSP Films brand, it produces award-winning action sports content featuring elite professional skiers and cinematographers using a production stack that includes 4K UHD capture, RED camera packages, a proprietary gyrostabilized Cinetruck, and drone cinematography. The company maintains a deep back-catalog of films dating to its founding and has been recognized at the Powder Awards and within the industry as producing some of the most decorated ski movies ever made.

The business operates four interlocking revenue streams: (1) film sales and digital distribution via skimovie.com, iTunes, Red Bull TV, and a free back-catalog archive ("The Vault"); (2) direct-to-consumer merchandise sold through shop.matchstickpro.com, including branded t-shirts priced at $32.95–$37.95, hoodies, hats, and accessories; (3) sponsored content and brand partnerships with endemic and non-endemic advertisers including Red Bull Media House (core distribution partner), Mountain Hardwear, Under Armour, MARKER, Subaru, Swatch, GoPro, Oakley, and Mercedes-Benz; and (4) professional content creation services for marketing campaigns delivered through its Vesta Films studio division. Go-to-market combines annual skitour film premiere events (global), YouTube as the primary video distribution channel, owned social media on Instagram, Facebook, Vimeo, TikTok, and the #mspix community hashtag, plus email newsletters and an advertise/hire-us funnel.

The customer base is hybrid. Skiing and outdoor sports enthusiasts are the primary consumer segment, served through films, free archive content, and merchandise. Outdoor and action-sports brands constitute a secondary business-to-business segment purchasing sponsored content, athlete integration, and production services. Geographically, Matchstick Productions maintains a global footprint with filmed projects and content distribution reaching the United States, Canada, Austria, Japan, France, Switzerland, and Norway, although Crested Butte remains its sole operational headquarters.

Name

Matchstick Productions

Legal name

Matchstick Productions

Website

https://matchstickpro.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Matchstick Productions is a privately held, Crested Butte-based ski film production company founded in 1992 that produces award-winning action sports films, branded content, and merchandise for skiing enthusiasts and outdoor brand sponsors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ski and action sports film production

NAICS

Other Spectator Sports (711219), Sporting Goods Retailers (459110)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822), Services-Motion Picture Theaters (7830)

akta.pro primary industry

Media & Broadcast Sponsorship (In-Game Broadcast, Streaming Sponsorship) (MPAKALAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sports Collectibles, Fan Gear & Licensed Merchandise Retail (CRAMABAO)

Keywords

• Ski film production
• Action sports cinematography
• Outdoor content creation
• Branded merchandise apparel
• Sports video distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Crested Butte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Film Sales & Distribution: Sale of ski films through digital platforms (iTunes, skimovie.com) and physical media (DVD/Blu-Ray). Films available for purchase or rental. Major productions include Days of My Youth, Fade to Winter, Superheroes of Stoke, and the Calm Beneath Castles series.
2. Merchandise Sales: E-commerce storefront selling branded apparel including t-shirts ($32.95), heavyweight t-shirts ($37.95), hoodies, hats, and accessories. Products feature Matchstick Productions logos and ski-themed designs.
3. Sponsored Content & Brand Partnerships: Production of sponsored content for brands including Red Bull, Mountain Hardwear, Under Armour, and Mercedes-Benz. Branded content collaborations and athlete sponsorship integrations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Matchstick Productions produces and distributes premium ski films and action sports video content featuring elite professional skiers, released theatrically on an annual film tour, streamed on Red Bull TV and its own platforms, and sold via iTunes. The company also sells branded apparel and accessories through its Matchstick Shop e-commerce store and offers branded content production and cinematography services to outdoor/action sports brands through Vesta Films / Matchstick Studios.

Product overview

Matchstick Productions is a ski film production company that creates award-winning ski movies and action sports content. The company operates multiple offerings: its core product is ski film production (films distributed for free via The Vault archive and via Red Bull); a merchandise sub-brand (Matchstick Shop) selling branded apparel; and Vesta Films, a professional content creation studio offering cinematography and marketing services for brand collaborations. The company has been producing content since 1992 and maintains a catalog of films spanning decades.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Matchstick Shop: E-commerce store for branded merchandise including apparel and accessories
• Matchstick Studio
• Vesta Films

Products and services

• Calm Beneath Castles (ski film) Full-length MSP ski film featuring elite professional skiers, produced in collaboration with Red Bull Media House and distributed via Red Bull TV.
• inefficient joy (ski film) Experimental short-to-full ski film from MSP exploring why skiers dedicate time to the sport, released in 2025.
• After the Snowfall (ski film) Full-length MSP ski film produced in collaboration with Red Bull, distributed through Red Bull platforms.
• The Land of Giants (ski film) Full-length MSP ski film released in 2023, featuring elite professional skiers and showcased on the MSP annual film tour.
• Huck Yeah! (ski film) MSP ski film released in 2020 featuring top professional skiers in high-intensity segments.
• The Vault (free film archive) Free online archive on matchstickpro.com giving audiences access to MSP's back catalog of classic ski films.
• Mountain Topo Unisex T-Shirt Branded 100% combed ring-spun cotton t-shirt (4.2 oz/yd²) with mountain topography graphic, available in sizes S–2XL at $32.95 through shop.matchstickpro.com.
• Head for the Hills Heavyweight T-Shirt 100% ring-spun cotton garment-dyed heavyweight t-shirt (6.1 oz/yd²) with relaxed fit, priced at $37.95 on shop.matchstickpro.com.
• Vesta Films / Matchstick Studios Content Creation Services Professional content creation, cinematography and creative services offered to brands (e.g., Mercedes-Benz, Red Bull, Mountain Hardwear, Under Armour) for marketing campaigns and branded storytelling, leveraging MSP's 30+ years of production expertise, RED cameras, gyrostabilized Cinetruck and drone technology.

Quantifiable outcome

• Films achieve millions of views with individual videos exceeding 21M views
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.

• CBAC (Crested Butte Avalanche Center)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024MSP X CBAC collaboration creating graphics supporting avalanche awareness. Featured on social media and website content.
• Red Bull Media HousecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor distribution and co-production partner. Films like 'Days of My Youth' and 'Calm Beneath Castles' are presented by Red Bull Media House. Red Bull TV serves as primary streaming platform for MSP films.
• Mountain HardwearmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting partner for multiple films including 'Days of My Youth.' Athlete sponsorship and branded content collaborations.
• MARKERmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor for the 'Sacred Grounds' short film series. Ski equipment brand partnership.
• Under ArmourmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerAthlete sponsorship and content featuring Under Armour athletes like Tanner Rainville.
• SubaruminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNamed partner for 'Days of My Youth' film production.
• SwatchminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNamed partner for 'Days of My Youth' film production.
• GoProminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNamed partner providing camera technology for 'Days of My Youth' production.
• OakleyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNamed partner for 'Days of My Youth' film production. Eyewear and athlete sponsorship.
• Mercedes-BenzminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommercial collaboration with Mercedes-Benz for S-Class Cabriolet content filmed at Palmaz Winery in Napa. Vesta Films produced content featuring gyrostabilized Cinetruck, drones, and RED camera packages.
• Gravity HausminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMembership partnership featured on website banner advertising Gravity Haus membership.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Teton Gravity Research: Teton Gravity Research (TGR) is the most direct peer to MSP, producing freeskiing and action-sports films, web series, and digital content featuring elite athletes. Comparable in target audience, athlete network, and film-tour distribution model.
• Field Productions: Field Productions is an independent freeskiing film outfit producing annual features and athlete segments, with a similar ski-tour screening distribution and brand-sponsorship revenue mix.
• Level 1 Productions: Level 1 Productions is an independent freeskiing and action-sports film producer releasing annual feature films, ski tours, and athlete-driven web content. Directly overlaps MSP on ski film production, athlete rosters, and tour screenings.
• Warren Miller Entertainment: Warren Miller is the iconic legacy brand of ski films with annual fall tour screenings and feature-length productions. Operates in the same freeskiing feature-film category as MSP and competes for the same film-tour audience and brand-sponsorship dollars.
• Sweetgrass Productions: Sweetgrass Productions is an independent action-sports film studio known for narrative-driven ski, mountain-bike, and outdoor cinematography. Directly comparable to MSP's Vesta Films studio in premium storytelling and 4K/cinematic production quality.

Emerging players

• GoPro: GoPro is both a named technology partner on MSP productions (Days of My Youth) and a competing action-sports content publisher. Overlaps directly in POV and aerial action-sports content targeting ski, mountain bike, and outdoor adventure audiences.
• Salomon Freeski TV: Salomon Freeski TV produces and distributes freeskiing webisodes and short films from a major ski-equipment OEM. Comparable digital-only content model targeting the same freeskiing enthusiast audience as MSP's YouTube and Vimeo presence.

Broad incumbents

• Red Bull Media House: Red Bull Media House is MSP's primary distribution partner and the dominant global producer/distributor of action-sports media. Operates broadly across multiple sports and content formats while competing for the same sponsored-content budgets that fund MSP productions.

Regional players

• Atomic Skiing: Atomic is a major ski-equipment OEM that produces sponsored freeskiing films and athlete-driven content (e.g., the 'Seekers' and 'Shades of Winter' style films). Comparable as a brand-funded freeskiing content operation targeting the same enthusiast base.

Others

• IF3 (International Freeski Film Festival): IF3 is the marquee competitive showcase for freeskiing film productions and an awards circuit where MSP and its peers compete. Functions as both distribution channel and industry-credibility validator for ski-film studios.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/mspfilms
• Facebookfacebook.com/MSPFilms
• Instagraminstagram.com/mspfilms
• Xx.com/mspfilms
• TikToktiktok.com/@matchstick_productions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Matchstick Productions