As Eva Longoria continues to expand her business portfolio, she’s going from fútbol to football. Longoria and Hyphenate Media Group — the company she founded in 2023 with media exec (and TV Academy chair) Cris Abrego — recently launched the Roku series “NFL Hometown Eats,” its latest foray into the world of professional sports.
Longoria is already an owner in the Mexican association football club Club Necaxa, and her investment in the organization is the basis of the FX series “Nexaca,” produced by Hyphenate. She’s also an investor in L.A. women’s pro soccer team Angel City FC and among the partners who last year acquired the Columbia professional soccer team La Equidad.
With “NFL Hometown Eats,” produced with Skydance Sports, Roku and Alfred Street Industries, Longoria says she was approached to participate because of her die-hard fandom for the Dallas Cowboys.
“It’s so funny because every sports show we’ve done has been this organic connection that I have,” she says. “We did ‘Nexaca’ because I own a team in Mexico, and then I am a huge Cowboys fan, and this show really just fell in our lap because of that. I always love doing anything in the sports arena because I really feel like it’s the last frontier of entertainment. It’s dramatic and emotional, and there’s ups and there’s downs. It’s such a fun ride for fans.”
Longoria is also no stranger to food travel shows, having starred in and produced “Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico,” “Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain” and “Eva Longoria: Searching for France” with CNN Original Series.
“I know Roku had a had a partnership with NFL, and they were looking at ways to do a food show around the NFL,” she says. “This organic connection of food and football, it was a perfect marriage and a really different way in to a sport — and to tell to have that storytelling be through food. I could not believe the connection that the community has with teams. There are restaurants, food trucks and vendors that are totally dependent upon this fan base.”
Jake Giles Netter
The first season of “NFL Hometown Eats” kicks off with Longoria and former Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Ware enjoying Texas cuisine; Seattle Seahawks fan Joel McHale with cornerback Devon Witherspoon; and actress Rebel Wilson with Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Davante Adams eating some L.A. dishes.
Longoria says she hopes “NFL Hometown Eats” is the start of a new franchise that could expand to other sports as well. “There are so many other leagues that I would love to explore with them,” she says. “Whether it’s ‘NBA Eats’ or ‘MLB Eats’ or ‘NHL Eats’ or anything … It’s an endless well to tap into for episodes. The amount of teams and amount of celebrities that are fans of NFL.”
Adds Roku Originals head Brian Tannenbaum in a statement: “Fandom and sports are key pillars of our original content strategy at Roku, and ‘NFL Hometown Eats’ is a perfect example of how we can bring those two passions together in a fresh and entertaining way. The series extends our valued relationship with the NFL and Skydance Sports, and when it came to finding the perfect partner to round out the production team, there was no better choice than Eva Longoria and Hyphenate Media Group. Eva’s die-hard love of football and food, combined with Hyphenate’s premium approach to storytelling, made them an incredible creative partner. We’re thrilled with the recent launch of ‘NFL Hometown Eats’ and look forward to continuing our work with Eva and the Hyphenate team to create breakout original content for Roku audiences.”
As for her own role as both an entrepreneur and entertainer, Longoria says she feels like she is “probably in my most natural habitat … It’s like, ‘wow, I get to do all those things and get paid for it.’ I want what’s best for my businesses as well. When we did ‘Nexaca,’ it was such good exposure for the team, for sponsorships, for the stadium, for fans. So it’s like a win-win for my entrepreneurship, and then, of course, for my entertainment side as well.”
“NFL Hometown Eats” is executive produced by Longoria, Abrego, Rachelle Mendez and Ian Samplin for Hyphenate Media Group; Jane Lipsitz, Dan Cutforth, Dan Volpe and Nan Strait for Alfred Street Industries; and Jesse Sisgold, Jason T. Reed, Jon Weinbach and Lauren Gaffney for Skydance Sports.