There’s no athlete quite as polarizing as Tom Brady. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that he’s one of the most fascinating celebrities of the past 20 years. He changed not only his own career trajectory, but the path of those around him. He made dreams come true and has broken hearts, and he is an incredible subject for an in-depth podcast titled Man in the Arena.
Helping Man in the Arena Take the Field
Research / Strategy / Creative Development / Pilot Episode Production / Production Team Assembly
Client
Religion of Sports
Distributor
ESPN+
Services
Overview
Rowhome was hired to help production company Religion of Sports creatively develop this 10-part podcast series as an accompaniment to the ESPN television series, Man in The Arena: Tom Brady. Though it was a companion piece, it couldn’t simply be an audio version of the television series, so we worked side-by-side with Religion of Sports to figure out how to differentiate the podcast and to optimize the audio experience—in other words, how to make it sound incredible.
“Man in the Arena” looks at the past two decades of Tom Brady’s career through the eyes of fans and haters, those who know him personally and those who’ve only ever watched him on television. As a fan and a friend of Brady, host Gotham Chopra is in a unique professional and personal position to explore the world’s complicated relationship with this gifted athlete.
Patriots vs Jets 2019-2020 Season | Photo by Nathan Macoul
Rowhome’s work started much like a football game: with a game plan. We created a treatment document that outlined potential episode topics, themes and people to interview. We then built on this plan by conceptualizing the format and tone of the show, including naming Gotham as a potential host. Rounding out this planning phase meant creating a suggested budget, identifying the production team of Isaac Kestenbaum and Josie Holtzman.
The next step was to actually make a podcast. Working alongside Religion of Sports, we created a pilot episode of “Man in the Arena,” demonstrating what the show could sound and feel like using WHYY host and reporter Avi Wolfman-Arent as a stand-in for the host. When it came time to create the podcast, everyone had a solid format and structure to follow.
Left: Tom Brady in his last practice as a New England Patriot Photo by Cian Leach | Right: Photo by Jeffrey Beall
ESPN and Religion of Sports debuted “Man in the Arena” in November 2021, with the final episode airing on February 3, 2022. According to Front Office Sports reports, ESPN Daily averaged two million downloads per month, with an estimated unique audience of 500,000—meaning all eyes (and ears) were on the Man in the Arena.
The Results
Trailer for the ESPN television series Man In The Arena: Tom Brady. Rowhome was hired to creatively develop a podcast to accompany the TV series.
