Former TNT/TBS head of unscripted series and specials Michael Bloom has joined Religion of Sports, the sports media company founded by Gotham Chopra, and NFL superstars Tom Brady and Michael Strahan. Bloom will serve as exec vice president of content, while also added to the team are Eric Hoberman as head of development and Lauren Fisher as VP/executive creative director of Religion of Sports Labs.
Bloom most recently ran his own company, Bongo Pictures. At Religion of Sports, he’ll oversee all content, including partnerships, scripted, unscripted, audio and branded entertainment. Bloom’s credits also includes MTV, AMC, Fox Sports, IMG and Warner Media, and projects such as “Being: Liverpool,” “The Talking Dead,” “Shaq Life,” “Drop The Mic,” ELeague and others.
“I was there at the beginning with Gotham when he created the DNA for this incredibly ambitious company.” Bloom said in a statement. “I’m really excited to join the Religion of Sports team as they do incredible work, and I can’t wait to help continue to build this company.”
Hoberman most recently served as senior VP of development at ITV America. At Religion of Sports, he’ll be tasked with creating and selling premium and unscripted TV.At ITV America, he worked on projects for Netflix, Amazon, A&E, Roku, Apple and others, as well as the development and sale of the format “Project Icon with Jason Derulo” to BBC3. Hoberman’s resume include stints as VP of development at eOne, focusing on documentary series, as well as serving as an exec Smart Dog Media (“The Masked Singer”).
As for Fisher, the entertainment and sports vet helps launch ROS Labs, a new department “specializing in design and innovation.” According to Religion of Sports, “this department will focus on creating visually stunning and future-proof content across all ROS verticals through the use of cutting-edge tech and innovative production techniques including motion graphics, VFX, augmented reality and beyond.”
Fisher started her career in broadcast design, later directing projects for the NBA, NFL, NCAA, over 20 professional teams as well as Nickelodeon, Disney and Nike. She developed the pilot for the short-form docuseries “Greatness Code” with Religion Of Sports, which was ran on Apple TV+ and won an Emmy for animation.
“Michael, Eric and Lauren are all uniquely talented and bring invaluable skills and networks to ROS to amplify our mission of telling stories with a distinct point of view that allow our partners to cut through the noise,” said Ameeth Sankaran, CEO of Religion of Sports, in a statement.
Expansion comes following Religion of Sports’ $50 million in a Series B fundraising round led by Shamrock Capital (with support from Elysian Park Ventures and Cerro Capital).
Religion of Sports has created programming such as short-form video, podcasts and feature films, including flagship“Shut Up and Dribble,” “Tom vs. Time,” “Greatness Code” and“Man in the Arena.” Podcasts have included “Now For Tomorrow,”“Crushed,”“False Idol” and “In the Moment with David Greene.”
