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How’s it going? I hope you had a great week!
Today I want to dive into something known as the ‘Manning Cast’ – I will first briefly explain to you what it is and what makes it special, and lastly, I will tell you why it may change the way we consume sports content, forever.
What is the Manning Cast?
Earlier this year, ESPN signed a partnership with the Manning brothers to host an alternative broadcast production for Monday Night Football games, also known as the ‘Manning Cast.’
For those who don’t recognize them – Peyton & Eli are true legends of the sport and probably the most iconic brothers to ever play the game. They are both former NFL quarterbacks who won four Super Bowl championships combined!
This first-of-its-kind partnership creates an additional viewing option for fans for ten games each season for the next three years.
You may be thinking — “Ok, so these brothers sit, watch, and talk about the Monday Night games from remote locations via Zoom – why would anyone watch that?” — and I’m glad you ask!
What makes the Manning Cast special?
“Peyton and Eli will bring a different approach, delving into conversation about broader, big-picture topics while also honing in on the game, much like fans do when watching with their family and friends.”
One of the main reasons we watch televised sports is to learn and acquire information about the players and the game.
What could even be better than to learn from the best?
Besides having fun and enjoying the game – the Manning brothers bring deep in-game analysis, unexpected reactions, perspectives, experiences, anecdotes, and more.
Additionally, each week they invite athletes and celebrities to the broadcast to talk and discuss different topics throughout the game.
Watching talented people from different backgrounds is entertaining at worst and super interesting at best.
So far, they’ve hosted people like LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Phil Mickelson, Pat McAfee, Tom Brady, Draymond Green, Charles Barkley, and Condoleezza Rice, amongst others.
The result?
According to ESPN, overall viewership ratings for Monday Night Football this season are up 17% from 2020 and 15% from 2019.
The Bottom Line
Fans are continuously looking for experiences that will keep them engaged with sports content.
In the spectrum of sports broadcasts (at least in American football), most of the content is quite predictable, monotone, and will rarely offer a different experience to the viewer from what they are used to.
The Manning Cast is an example of what creative, authentic, fun and unpredictable layers added to the existing content can achieve.
That’s why we may be standing at an inflection point for a shift in sports broadcasts and content consumption.
And I’m not suggesting that the traditional broadcasts are bad – but having alternatives and the ability to choose the type of content we want to consume is what’s exciting.
🎙 Halftime Snack of the Week
Training the Brain to Enhance Performance
Konstantin is the CEO & co-founder of i-BrainTech – an AI-powered brain-training platform that enhances the performance of athletes in sports.
In this episode, we talked about Konstantin's transition from academia to sports, the science and logic behind i-BrainTech, the future of i-BrainTech, alternative neuro-training methods, and technology for sports and healthcare.
Listen on Apple | Spotify | Google
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Until next week,
Ronen Ainbinder
Twitter: @Ronenain
Website: ronenainbinder.com
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