GFOPs, rejoice! Men in Blazers are joining NBC Sports Group’s coverage of the Premier League and will offer a full multi-media, cross-platform showcase for their unique talents. The deal makes Men in Blazers exclusive to NBC Universal for all soccer-related content.
News of the comedic duo, made up of television producer Michael Davies and writer/producer Roger Bennett, joining the network broke last night in the Wall Street Journal article written by Will Connors. That article noted the centerpiece of the deal being a 30 minute show to air every Monday of Premier League competition and today, additional details of the group’s input have emerged.
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The agreement includes one studio appearance per month by Bennett where he will serve as a special contributor, a single one-hour special show (to be aired during a high point of the Premier League season), various features including four to six pieces from the United Kingdom, as well as video-on-demand previews to be distributed via Pro Soccer Talk, Soccerly and Yahoo. Bennett will also contribute long form pieces to NBCSports.com, where a Men in Blazers section will exist that houses their weekly podcast, headlines and thumbnails for all content.
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Over the past three years Davies and Bennett have reached cult status with their weekly podcast on Grantland. “The pod,” as it’s commonly known, is a witty, pop culture-infused show that focuses on the Premier League but also pays homage to the U.S. Men’s National Team (referred to by the duo as “The Von Trapps”), Major League Soccer and other major stories in international football. Recurring topics of discussion include Davies’ love for Chelsea, Bennett’s love for Everton, the growth of soccer in the United States, World War I poetry as well as a smattering array of television series like Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey, all of which contribute to the fast-growing lexicon in which Men in Blazers converse.
Followers of the duo are known as ‘Great Friend of the Pod’, or, more commonly, “GFOPs”, an acronym that is frequently hashtagged in Tweets to Men in Blazers and noted in conversation by guests and fans. In recent years the two have taken their podcast to the airwaves where twice a week their show could be heard on Sirius XM FC. Always a favorite among soccer-heads in the US, the group transcended the sport with their coverage of the 2014 World Cup for ESPN where a number of casual watchers were drawn in by their intellect and repartee.
Davies, also known as “Davo” and “Positive”, is a British television producer who produced Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and broke through in the soccer scene when he authored a hugely-entertaining ESPN World Cup diary in 2002. Bennett, also known as “Rog” and, affectionately, “Toilet”, is a journalist, author and filmmaker who recently directed the highly-acclaimed ESPN documentary, Inside: US Soccer’s March to Brazil.
In their tagline, Men in Blazers state that they are “driven by the belief that Soccer is America’s Sport of the Future. As it has been since 1972.” The irony of the statement is that, of all factors contributing to the rise of soccer in the US, one of the most profound influences is Men in Blazers themselves. They are conversationally relevant, they are social, and they understand the dynamics of the media landscape as well as any talent. The perfect addition to NBC’s extensive coverage of the Barclays Premier League.