We’ve had the privilege of working with the Premier League and its media partner, NBC Sports, to grow the league’s brand in the United States since 2017. In those seven years, the Premier League has become the most-watched soccer league among stateside viewers, with #MyPLMornings become a staple of the fan experience.
From PL Fan Fests and the PL Summer Series, to organic and user-generated social media coverage (we recently celebrated @PLinUSA surpassing 1 million followers, by the way), the overarching strategy hasn’t changed—amplify and celebrate the uniqueness of the American fan experience, while making the Premier League product relatable to the American consumer. Celebrity, cross-sport, and pop culture relevance being a mainstay.
While the 2023/24 season may have ended, the work to endear more Americans to the Premier League continues. As such, we recently helped the league launch a new five-part digital series, called The Crossover, featuring interviews with American celebrities, musicians, and athletes.
The series spotlights these personalities in their native spaces—the skate park, the studio, and beyond—offering them a platform to discuss their Premier League story. After all, fandom comes in all shapes in sizes, including from many of America’s most interesting and influential cultural crossovers.
Importance of crossover content for growth
Crossover content is a valuable asset in the content tool kit because it helps, in this case the Premier League, reach different spheres of cultural influence and popularity. Brands can leverage this and attract new viewers who may not be traditional soccer fans. This can broaden and diversify the league’s reach and create opportunities for deeper engagement with a varied audience.
Additional insight: According to our fan research, people who became soccer fans in the past five years and have at least a casual interest in the Premier League are 15% more likely than all soccer fans to have arrived at their fandom thanks to general sports interest.
By offering a platform for these personalities to express their fandom, The Crossover and series like it highlight the unique ways in which people engage with and support the Premier League and ultimately make these celebrities, these athletes, these musicians feel more relatable to the average Premier League fan.
Bringing “The Crossover” to life
The content series, which our For Soccer team creative concepted and scripted, produced, and edited, pairs a digital host with a rotating list of talent from crossover spaces. In each video, we’ll explore their Premier League fan journey, their favorite club(s) and player(s), the best and worst moments as fans, the cult hero they’ll never forget, and more.
The first video, out right now and embedded later in the post, features skateboarding legend and the first person to skate in Stamford Bridge, Paul Rodriguez. Our team, along with series host Tamara Dhia, joined Paul at the Primitive Skatepark in Los Angeles to talk all things Premier League.
The unique environment was the perfect place to discuss Paul’s most well-known accomplishments alongside his love for the Premier League—even if it means waking up at 4:00am for games.
Watch “The Crossover” content series
Check out Paul’s full interview with Tamara below, as well as the next two videos in the series featuring fashion designer Guillermo Andrade and country music superstar Chase Rice.
Stay tuned for the remaining episodes over the coming weeks.