Vice Inks Soccer’s ‘Men in Blazers’ for June Tourneys
Vice Sports is the new exclusive digital partner for Men in Blazers’ Copa America and Euro 2016 soccer coverage. Droll Britons Roger “Rog” Bennett and Michael "Davo" Davies launched the Men in Blazers podcast following the 2006 World Cup, which led to a place in ESPN’s 2014 World Cup Coverage and the duo’s own weekly show on NBCSN.
Kicking off on June 3, Bennett and Davies will team up with celebrities and special guests to host video coverage produced by Embassy Row and daily livestreams of the biggest soccer developments.
“We think this summer is going to be the most impactful summer of soccer in terms of the sport’s growth in the U.S. since the ’94 World Cup,” said Vice Sports publisher Will Kiersky. “In talking to Rog and Davo it became clear we shared the same perspective and sensibility about what was missing in terms of how the game is covered and talked about in America. Having the Euros and Copa going on simultaneously for over a month, and partnering with Men In Blazers for the entirety of it, is going to make for a killer summer.”
In their Twitter bio, the pair describes the Men in Blazers concept as “Kind of like Car Talk without the cars.”
"While there is no World Cup this year, the combined effect of the Copa America by night, reinforced by Euro 2016 every afternoon, will make this summer feel like the Dietetic Chocolate of World Cups,” said Bennett. “American sports fans will be enthralled by the narrative of the world's best soccer players doing battle across two continents, and we are honored by the chance to cover every breathtaking goal, surprise result, and new neck tattoo on Vice.”
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Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.