Roku, Hello Sunshine, and Rich Eisen Productions Team Up for "Women's Sports Now," a Weekly Roundup and Breakdown All About Women's Sports
Suzy Shuster to executive produce and recur as co-host of the weekly series; Renee Montgomery and Sarah Tiana to co-host
Miller Lite serves as the launch partner
With surging viewership, fan engagement, cultural prominence, and sponsorship investments, women's sports are more popular than ever. More than double the number of people watched women's sports monthly in 2024 than in 2022*, and female athletes drive twice the amount of social engagement as their male counterparts**. Roku has seen this popularity firsthand, with engagement for women's sports in 2024 up 143% YoY on the platform***. To better serve fans, Roku is partnering with Hello Sunshine, Rich Eisen Productions, and APX Content Ventures to bring audiences "Women's Sports Now," a weekly talk series that will dive deep into the stories of the elite women at the heart of these games. "Women's Sports Now" will be fans' go-to source for everything from women's basketball, volleyball, soccer, college basketball, and more.
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Suzy Shuster to executive produce and recur as co-host of the weekly series "Women's Sports Now," on The Roku Channel, with Renee Montgomery and Sarah Tiana to co-host. (Photo: Business Wire)
"Women's Sports Now" will feature an outstanding all-female core team, with each member bringing her unique experiences across sports, journalism, and entertainment to the table. Emmy Award-winning sports reporter Suzy Shuster will executive produce on behalf of Rich Eisen Productions and recur as co-host. Former WNBA star and current co-owner of the Atlanta Dream Renee Montgomery and comedian and sports superfan Sarah Tiana will co-host the series. Leading figures from the women's sports world will join the hosts as guests in each episode.
The series marks the fourth collaboration between Hello Sunshine and The Roku Channel, following the success of Hello Sunshine's unscripted series "Side Hustlers" and the unscripted romantic comedies "Meet Me in Paris" and "Meet Me in Rome." "Women's Sports Now" also builds on Hello Sunshine's growing slate of women's sports content, which includes the forthcoming "F1 Academy" (Netflix) and "Surf Girls" (Prime Video). The show furthers the relationship between Rich Eisen Productions and The Roku Channel, which continues to distribute Emmy-nominated daily sports and entertainment talk show "The Rich Eisen Show." Miller Lite has signed on as the series' presenting launch partner through their media agency Connect.
"I'm thrilled to be creating a show that has long been overdue and to be working with partners like Hello Sunshine and Roku who share that vision," said Suzy Shuster. "Women's sports are taking over the world, and our goal is to celebrate these incredible female athletes for the difference-makers they are."
"The soaring momentum of women's sports goes beyond one sport or athlete; it's a widespread sporting and cultural interest with a broad, enthusiastic audience looking to stay connected with their favorite teams and athletes," said Joe Franzetta, Head of Sports, Roku Media. "As the excitement and engagement in this space only continue to grow, we're proud to partner with Hello Sunshine, a true champion of female-driven storytelling, all-star talent Suzy Shuster, Renee Montgomery, Sarah Tiana, and our incredible launch partner Miller Lite to create an accessible, premium weekly talk series to entertain and inform women's sports fans."
"We couldn't be more thrilled to partner with Roku and Suzy Shuster to bring ‘Women's Sports Now' to life," said Sara Rea, Hello Sunshine's Head of Unscripted. "We've seen time and time again the appetite audiences have for women's sports. What makes this show so special and unique is its broad appeal: whether you're a diehard sports fan, curious to learn more, or simply looking to be entertained, ‘Women's Sports Now' is a first-of-its-kind series focusing on women's sports in a way that's fun, engaging, and reflective of how they have become an important sector in pop culture today."
"We are so proud to team up with Hello Sunshine and Roku for the launch of ‘Women's Sports Now,'" said Mara Schaefer, Senior Director of Marketing, Miller Lite. "This fanbase is passionate, and we can't wait to help bring them even more stories to cheers to."
Suzy Shuster executive produces for Rich Eisen Productions. Reese Witherspoon, Sara Rea, and Cassie Lambert Scalettar will executive produce on behalf of Hello Sunshine. KP Anderson serves as executive producer and showrunner. "Women's Sports Now" will join Roku's existing lineup of premium sports talk programming available to audiences for free including "The Rich Eisen Show" and "GMFB: Overtime." The series is overseen by Brian Tannenbaum, Sean Boyle, and Louisa Lenander Friedman on behalf of Roku Originals.
The Roku Channel is available to stream for free — no subscription or sign-up required. Audiences can watch it on Roku devices or TVs, and it's also easily accessible online at TheRokuChannel.com, iOS and Android devices, Amazon Fire TVs, Samsung TVs and Google TVs and other Android TV OS devices.
*eMarketer US Sports Streaming 2024 Report (October 2024)
**Wasserman the Collective - From the Shadows to the Spotlight: A new look at the increased media coverage of women's sports (October 2024)
***Roku internal data full year 2023-2024
About The Roku Channel
Launched in 2017, The Roku Channel is the home of free ad-supported streaming television on Roku, and features a diverse lineup of more than 80,000 on-demand movies and programs, more than 500 live linear television channels, and premium subscription offerings in the U.S. It licenses and distributes content from more than 250 partners and features a growing library of Roku Originals. In Q3 2024, The Roku Channel was the #3 app on our platform by both reach and engagement.
About Hello Sunshine
Founded by Reese Witherspoon, Hello Sunshine puts women at the center of every story it creates, celebrates and discovers. Hello Sunshine tells stories across all platforms – from scripted and unscripted television, feature films, animated series, podcasts, audio storytelling, and digital series – all shining a light on where women are now and helping them chart a new path forward. Hello Sunshine is also home to Reese's Book Club. Fast growing in reach and influence, this community is propelled by meaningful connections with stories, authors, and fellow members.
Hello Sunshine is part of Candle Media, an independent, creator-friendly home for cutting-edge, high-quality, category-defining brands and franchises. By bringing together elite talent operating at the intersection of content, community, and commerce, it helps to position leading entertainment businesses for accelerated, sustainable growth in the current market and beyond. Candle is run by its Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs, leading entertainment executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, and backed by investment capital from funds managed by Blackstone's flagship private equity business.
About Molson Coors Beverage Company
For more than two centuries, Molson Coors has brewed beverages that unite people to celebrate all life's moments. From our core power brands Coors Light, Miller Lite, Coors Banquet, Molson Canadian, Carling and Ožujsko to our above premium brands including Madrí Excepcional, Staropramen, Blue Moon Belgian White and Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, to our economy and value brands like Miller High Life and Keystone Light, we produce many beloved and iconic beers. While Molson Coors' history is rooted in beer, we offer a modern portfolio that expands beyond the beer aisle as well, including flavored beverages like Vizzy Hard Seltzer, spirits like Five Trail whiskey and non-alcoholic beverages like ZOA Energy. As a business, our ambition is to be the first choice for our people, our consumers and our customers, and our success depends on our ability to make our products available to meet a wide range of consumer segments and occasions.
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