Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions Strikes Wide-Ranging Content Deal With Caesars (Exclusive)

Omaha Productions is going from Manningcasts to podcasts, all as part of a wide-ranging content deal with Caesars Entertainment, the parent company of the casino and resort brands, as well as the Caesars Sportsbook digital betting firm.

The production company, founded by former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning, has inked a multiyear deal with Caesars that will see Omaha producing video and audio content for Caesars platforms, and launching a podcast business through a new division, the Omaha Audio Network.

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Manning and the Omaha team will also help develop digital and social content for Caesars, kicking off with a new series called Mayne on the Street to be hosted by former ESPN host Kenny Mayne, who joined Caesars last year. The deal also includes live events at Caesars locations across the U.S., following the success of a Super Bowl party hosted by the Manning family earlier this year at Caesars Las Vegas (the company also featured Peyton and other members of the Manning family in a commercial campaign last year).

Manning tells The Hollywood Reporter that those commercial spots helped spur on the new deal.

“The shoots were filled with a lot of laughs and the Caesars folks were great teammates,” Manning says. “Earlier this year, we had conversations to see if we could do more together. That’s what led to the partnership with Omaha. We’re creating some fun original series together, and we think what you’re going to see across all of them is entertaining content around the sports we love.”

According to both parties, the content partnership is meant to be collaborative, with the Omaha and Caesars teams working together on content ideation, and leveraging Caesars’ lineup of talent, including Mayne, comedian JB Smoove, host and influencer Rachel DeMita, Cooper Manning and others. DeMita will host a series called Celeb Shots, while Cooper Manning will host a series called One More Round.

“Together we are looking to really concept ideas together,” Caesars Sportsbook Chief Marketing Officer Sharon Otterman tells THR. “We truly believe that storytelling is an important part of sports betting, and it is certainly an important part of our brand. We want to be there to educate consumers. It’s a new industry with a lot of jargon, and one that is really known for having conversations around sports. So we wanted to create really good content.”

Manning retired from the NFL in 2016, and founded Omaha Productions in 2020. The company took off with its production of ESPN’s “Manningcast,” an alternate broadcast for Monday Night Football that sees Peyton, his brother (fellow former quarterback Eli Manning) and special guests riffing on the game.

“They are able to build content that is completely relatable as a sports fan,” Otterman adds. “I feel like on Monday nights I get to hang out with Peyton and Eli in my living room watching an NFL game — how great is that? And that approachable sense of content, the talking with the fans…that is what is so attractive to us, and aligns so nicely with our brand.”

The Manningcast format was so successful that ESPN extended the deal with Omaha through the 2024 football season, and announced plans for the company to produce other alternate broadcasts (the first one was held for the PGA Championship, led by Joe Buck and Michael Collins, with UFC and college sports to follow). Omaha also produces the Places franchise for ESPN+.

The Omaha Audio Network will launch later this year, with hosts expected from a number of high-profile sports. Caesars Sportsbook will be the presenting sponsor on all the podcasts.

Podcasts have become a red-hot category for platforms like Spotify, Apple and Amazon, and also for talent, who can often leverage their existing fan base for listenership, and turn to their friends for guest appearances and content. Sports in particular have become a critical category, with companies like Spotify investing in it (Spotify recently tapped Bill Simmons to lead its sports content efforts).

Omaha will also be involved in Caesars’ responsible gaming campaign (the Mannings appeared in a spot that aired during NFL games and the Super Bowl last year).

“People really do trust the Mannings, and they are going to love the content from Omaha, and a huge part of what we are going to do is continue to get out that message about responsible gaming,” Otterman says.

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