The Big Lead

David Beckham will talk football with friends on TV just like the Mannings

By Joe Lago

Feb 25, 2024; Carson, California, USA; Inter Miami CF owner David Beckham attends the match against the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Feb 25, 2024; Carson, California, USA; Inter Miami CF owner David Beckham attends the match against the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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The day after winning an Emmy Award for his Netflix documentary, David Beckham announced that he is seeking further TV success in the sports broadcast realm similar to the "ManningCast" show of Peyton Manning and Eli Manning during "Monday Night Football."

Beckham revealed Tuesday that he will launch an alternative UEFA Champions League broadcast called "Beckham and Friends" in which the former Manchester United star talks soccer with A-list celebrities.

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Beckham's watch party will begin next May for the second legs of the Champions League semifinals. It will conclude with the Champions League final on May 31.

"I think each time will be a different personality and a friend of mine," Beckham said during CBS Sports' Champions League studio show.

"Like you guys, I love watching the game. And I like watching the game in a certain way, most of the time it is even with my kids or my friends. So it's going to be that kind of thing where I'm sitting there, watching the game, commenting about the game with friends, talking about the game and sometimes not talking about the game."

For Beckham's show to succeed, he'll need big-name guests with outsized personalities. Its appeal won't be so much about the analysis, which the Manning brothers do exceptionally well in breaking down the NFL action during their MNF altcast.

The true draw will be how entertaining Beckham and his friends can be while fans are glued to the screen watching the Champions League's most consequential matches in the semifinals and final. The more hijinks (clipped by fans and posted on social media), the better.

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