Bleacher Report is ready for some football.
Long dominated by its hoops coverage, the digital sports hub for millennial and Gen Z fans this season launched a football brand--Gridiron--and is heading to the Super Bowl in Miami for a live experience that will tie in other parts of parent company AT&T and sponsors including Taco Bell, DiGiorno, Wrangler and State Farm.
“Our Miami activation will be the first physical manifestation of B/R Gridiron the consumer will see,” said Ed Romaine, CMO of Bleacher/Report, a division of Turner Sports.
Gridiron was designed to broaden the appeal for Bleacher Reports beyond basketball into other sports, including football, he said.
Fans will be able to register to be in the audience as shows are being produced live at the event. Fans can also take part in happy hours, sample pizza, take pictures for social media, take part in trivia contests and other activities. Celebrity guests will include Dwyane Wade, Peyton Manning, Dak Prescott, Keenan Allen, Jonathan Adams, Jamal Adams, Landon Collins, Ed Reed and Brian Westbrook.
B/R Gridiron at 1111 Lincoln is being held from Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in a historic event space in Miami.
Fans at 1111 Lincoln are likely to be younger than the normal Super Bowl week crowd, but not quite as young as those who head to Florida for spring break.
“People that are tuning into our programming are young,” Romaine said. “When the Super Bowl takes over a city, tons of people descend on the market and that’s a good opportunity for us to broaden awareness for the shows that we do that are specific to the NFL.”
At the event, Taco Bell will be giving out free beer during daily happy hours and DiGiorno will be sampling its pizza. Wrangler will have a giant denim-covered football and branded content. State Farm is the official sponsor of a Family Feud game on Ditch the Playbook featuring NFL stars Keenan Allen, Jonathan Abrams and Landon Collins.
The Dan Patrick Show and the Rich Eisen Show will originate from B/R Gridiron during the week. Also being shot in Miami for B/R in Miami are Untold Stories Live: The Ed Reed Super Bowl Special on Tuesday; Ditch the Playbook Live with Lefko on Wednesday; The Lefkoe Show with Warren Sapp, on Thursday; The Lefkoe Show Live with Brian Westbrook on Friday and Stick to Football Tailgate Live on Saturday.
At the same time B/R Betting will be streaming Super Bowl Betting Show Specials on Wednesday and Sunday from its studio in Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. B/R betting expert Kelly Stewart will also give live analysis of point spreads and other propositions on Sunday before the game and during halftime.
