NBC Sports soccer analysts Roger Bennett and Michael Davies -- better known as Men in Blazers -- "are a valuable brand," and their TV show and podcast "have emerged as a conduit for soccer’s top teams, corporate sponsors and the sport’s growing legion of American fans," according to John Jurgensen of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. Though "Men in Blazers" is "zealous in its coverage of other bodies, including the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams," the EPL "is the show’s North Star." EPL CEO Richard Scudamore said that he "has been following the show since its inception, not least because the hosts have the ear of a U.S. audience that his organization hopes to expand." Bennett and Davies "are adding a new venture: a live convention this November dubbed BlazerCon." The two-day gathering in Brooklyn, "intended as soccer’s answer to Comic-Con, will feature speeches and panel discussions from a who’s who of pundits and European soccer executives," including Scudamore. BlazerCon "will also feature some of the soccer-loving celebrities who frequent the show." Bennett: "The tectonic plates are shifting just below the surface of global football and changing the way America reveres the game and how the game is now looking at America as its final frontier." Jurgensen notes the "Men in Blazers" podcast "reaches between 250,000 and 350,000 listeners weekly." Meanwhile, NBCSN's Monday-night show "routinely rates higher than the channel’s other programs (except for soccer matches themselves) among young men." Of the 59,000 total viewers for this week’s show, 76% "were adult men under the age of 35." Davies said that from "merchandise sales (including limited-edition ties) to production fees, the Men in Blazers brand is expected to hit $10 million in annual revenue within the next few years" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/28).
