Celebrity athlete couple Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe are teaming with Vox Media to relaunch and expand their podcast “A Touch More Live” and sports and pop-culture podcast.
New episodes of “A Touch More Live,” which Bird and Rapinoe started as an Instagram Live series during the COVID pandemic, will premiere later this summer (with a launch date TBA). Bird and Rapinoe will offer hot takes on the latest sports news and stories, as well as host special guests.
Bird and Rapinoe’s “A Touch More Live” will be produced by Vox Media in partnership with their A Touch More production company and Togethxr, the media and commerce company co-founded by Bird and athletes Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim and Simone Manuel. Vox Media will head up sales, marketing and distribution for “A Touch More Live,” and the company will work with Bird and Rapinoe to “explore additional franchise expansion opportunities such as live event activations.”
In partnership with Vox Media, the “A Touch More Live” podcast will publish audio and video episodes weekly across platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. The video version of the podcast will be co-distributed by Togethxr.
“We are thrilled to have A Touch More partner with Vox Media to expand ‘A Touch More Live’ into a dynamic podcast that explores the intersection of sports and pop culture,” Bird and Rapinoe in a statement. “Producing the show during the pandemic sparked our larger interest in production which eventually led to us launching our company, A Touch More, so this show holds a special place in our hearts. We are excited for ‘A Touch More Live’ to be a place for exciting, honest conversations with compelling guests.”
Ray Chao, Vox Media’s SVP and general manager for audio and video, commented, “Megan and Sue are singular voices who are using their platforms as world champion athletes to tell stories and shed light on important issues impacting our society today.”
Bird, during a basketball career spanning three decades, is one of only seven women to win an Olympic gold medal, a FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup gold medal, an NCAA championship and a WNBA championship. Soccer start Rapinoe is a two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist.
Vox Media’s podcast lineup includes shows from research professor Brené Brown, former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, tech reviewer Marques Brownlee, psychotherapist Esther Perel, and journalist Kara Swisher and NYU Stern marketing professor Scott Galloway. “A Touch More Live” will join the company’s slate of sports franchises which including SB Nation’s narrative series “Secret Base” (hosted by Jon Bois), “Point Forward” (hosted by former NBA players Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner) and “The MMA Hour” (hosted by sports journalist Ariel Helwani).
Penske Media Corp., owner of Variety, became Vox Media’s largest single shareholder last year after PMC acquired a minority stake in the company.
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