9
Tennis is one of the most competitive sports. As an individual sport, there is immense pressure on athletes — they’re scrutinized personally and professionally by the media, and forced to withstand a barrage of questions during press junkets, but players like Naomi Osaka finally started to speak out. So Tennis Channel set out to change the format and give players a place where they could kick back and warm up, off the court.
The Tennis Channel digital series Warm & Fuzzy humanizes tennis players by exploring their mental health and personal experiences, bringing humorous, off-beat conversation that veers from typical tennis press-conference questions.
Season two initially dropped ten episodes featuring athletes like Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz, and more. Over the following three months, we released 40 additional episodes. The entire series is available on demand at tennischannel.com, the Tennis Channel app, and YouTube, and broadcast as content during the U.S. Open.
The initial brief was about bringing younger fans to Tennis and helping them get to know some of the players. The brief came when athletes, players like Naomi Osaka in particular, were speaking out about mental health. We wanted to create a series that helped audiences get to know players and create a safe space for them to relax, be themselves, and let fans see an authentic side outside of the pressure and “x’s and o’s” discussions of the sport.
We partnered with the Tennis Channel to create an oasis of fun and a unique way for fans to engage. The brief was to create a digital series that veered from typical tennis press conferences and create an engaging format that let players relax and showcase their personalities in a fun, informal setting.
Michael Kosta as host was intentional. A former pro tennis player, he understands the pressures players face and the tour's rhythms. Additionally, his humor balances tough subjects in an accessible way and meets pro players as humans first.
Warm & Fuzzy made some impressive changes for S2—including a new studio design, a resident harpist (to keep the vibe chill), and a magic tennis ball—that let players release pro tour stress. This episodic content series brings fans closer to players they love and shows that Tennis Channel is the entertainment leader of the game. Luckily for us (and some of the players) introducing audiences to up-and-coming players turned into a series that featured a new generation who won majors and became tennis superstars!
The second season surpassed the first’s performance after just 10 episodes with over 2M views, increased channel engagement and app subscribers, brought young fans into the world of tennis, earned comments where fans were begging to "please keep (more episodes) coming!" and picked up earned media across outlets like Tennis World that latched on to the human side of its players. Due to its popularity and brand success, S3 is already in the works.
Though Warm & Fuzzy is entertainment, the message is that elite athletes are multidimensional and interesting human beings. The initial season launched during Mental Health Awareness Month and tackled the topic with pros like Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff openly discussing mental health.
Also, from a practical perspective, Tennis Channel strives to build its already strong audience with the addition of younger and more diverse fans. As mentioned, some of the players that were originally featured on the show - are now major winners who have become the stars of the game.
Other important strategic elements include the show's set design and production. The whimsical space is calming yet optimistic, and the segment production designs appeal to a growing, social-first fan base. Moreover, it’s creating a safe space for pro tennis players—not just as athletes, but as humans first.
N/A
N/A
