AT&T AUDIENCE Network Greenlights "Religion of Sports" for Second Season

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of a successful debut season, AT&T*AUDIENCE® Network gives the greenlight on a second season of "Religion of Sports." The second season of the original documentary series will air later this year exclusively on DIRECTV, DIRECTV NOW and AT&T U-Verse.

The show is executive produced by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and award-winning filmmaker Gotham Chopra. "Religion of Sports" drew excellent reviews from critics and fans alike, prompting the decision to embark on a second season.

Season 2 of the original documentary series takes viewers around the world. They'll get an in-depth look at the places where sports, culture and spirituality collide. Some of the stops include:

• Clash in New Zealand – The best rugby players in the British Isles meet one of the southern hemisphere's most dominant teams, the All Blacks.
• German Soccer Fandom – St. Pauli fans take their passion beyond the field and regularly protest sexism, fascism and homophobia.
• Ultra Running – Distances ranging from the Sahara Desert to the Arctic Circle: This is the pinnacle of physical endurance.
• Bloods vs. Crips – The rival L.A. gangs duke it out on the basketball court in a family-friendly 48-hour cease fire.
• Hockey Town, USA – Centered around The University of North Dakota, Grand Forks is home to 50,000 people who eat, breathe and sleep ice hockey.

"Sports has always been a spiritual experience for me. Pushing myself and my teammates to perform at the highest level requires a discipline and intensity that is all about mastering the self," said Brady. "That I'm able to share that experience in another medium – through stories of people for whom sports is a matter of faith – has been a great thrill. I couldn't be more proud and excited that we'll be producing another season of Religion of Sports."

"Constance Schwartz and I are elated and grateful to Chris Long and the AUDIENCE Network to have Religion of Sports returning for a second season," said Strahan. "Our goal was to have this unique show serve as the bridge that connects the passion of religion with the passion of sports. Gotham Chopra, Tom Brady and the incredible team intertwined/meshed both beautifully during our first season.  We look forward to getting started on season two as this has been such an amazing experience."

"We are proud and excited to announce today that Religion of Sports is returning to AUDIENCE for a second season," said Christopher Long, head of The AUDIENCE Network. "This passionate and riveting series has resonated well with our viewers and we look forward to continuing our terrific relationship with Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Gotham Chopra in the future."

"I've been a true believer in the Religion of Sports for pretty much my whole life," said Chopra. "That I found incredible partners in Michael, Tom, and Constance Schwartz, wildly talented collaborators in my creative team, and a network led by Chris Long to join my cult, has been the most fulfilling professional pursuit of my career. And now we get to do it all over again – I'm pumped and can't wait to get going."

All episodes are available On Demand on DIRECTV and U-verse platforms. AT&T AUDIENCE Network is available on DIRECTV Ch. 239 or U-verse TV Ch. 1114 and via live streaming on the DIRECTV and U-verse apps and DIRECTV NOW.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) helps millions around the globe connect with leading entertainment, mobile, high speed internet and voice services. We offer entertainment your way on the nation's best data network.¹ We're one of the world's largest providers of pay TV. We have TV customers in the U.S. and 11 Latin American countries. And we offer the best global coverage of any U.S. wireless provider.² We also help businesses worldwide serve their customers better with our mobility and highly secure cloud solutions.

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© 2017 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the Globe logo and other marks are trademarks and service marks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

¹Claim based on the Nielsen Certified Data Network Score. Score includes data reported by wireless consumers in the Nielsen Mobile Insights survey, network measurements from Nielsen Mobile Performance and Nielsen Drive Test Benchmarks for Q2+Q3 2016 across 121 markets.

²Global coverage claim based on offering discounted voice and data roaming; LTE roaming; and voice roaming in more countries than any other U.S. based carrier. International service required. Coverage not available in all areas. Coverage may vary per country and be limited/restricted in some countries.

About AUDIENCE Network
Always Original. Never Ordinary. AUDIENCE is a unique and exclusive television experience available only to DIRECTV, DIRECTV NOW, and AT&T U-verse subscribers. AUDIENCE is committed to original, provocative content with a growing slate of critically acclaimed original series including the new crime series Ice, starring Cam Gigandet, Jeremy Sisto, Ray Winstone, and Donald Sutherland; MMA drama Kingdom, starring Frank Grillo and Nick Jonas; polyamorous romantic comedy You Me Her starring Greg Poehler, Rachel Blanchard and Priscilla Faia; and the final season of the suspense-drama Rogue, starring Cole Hauser and Ashley Greene. AUDIENCE is also home to acclaimed original docuseries including My Fighting Season, Executive Produced by Ricky Schroder, and Religion of Sports, Executive Produced by Tom Brady, Michael Strahan and Gotham Chopra. Sports fans will find live, daily sports and entertainment news from renowned sports journalists on The Dan Patrick Show and The Rich Eisen Show, and in-depth interviews with sports icons like Derek Jeter and Michael Phelps on Undeniable with Joe Buck. Viewers can also enjoy exclusive concerts by today's hottest artists including CeeLo Green, Kelsea Ballerini, The Lumineers and more on AUDIENCE Music. It's original entertainment you won't see anywhere else. For more info, please visit directv.com/audience.  

SOURCE AT&T Inc.

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