Every sports fan loves a genuine story about a team’s grind, a coach’s determined heart, and a player’s personal touch on a community. Lucky for us, NBC’s significant website update positioned around the digital revolution is giving birth to glorified content in the short-film world.
The broadcasting giant had recently announced they will be embarking on a new venture, debuting NBC Sports Digital Shorts. While the new webpage was the key to igniting these content heavy stories, NBC will also use their other platforms outside of NBCSports.com to stream the short films.
The reasoning behind the content shift is quite simple – competition and consumer engagement though story telling. ESPN, one of NBC’s top competitors in sport content production, has seen a great deal of success with their E:60 films, 30 for 30 shorts, and additional must see moment clips.
While ESPN’s short films are usually “one and done,” focusing on a particular team, coach or player, and moving onto the next, NBC intends to roll out an 8-10 minute mini-series on a selected sports content. A way to acquire and retain a bit more attention, the mini-series will provoke viewers to continue to tune in for each episode, while those watching an ESPN short typically do not receive that constant engagement. Furthermore, NBC has taken the initiative to do additional digital-exclusive pieces with the franchise selected for the series to supplement the live-streaming content for those viewers craving more.
This past Sunday, immediately after the primetime New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts Game, NBC aired its first episode of the mini-series, “Sherman’s Warriors,” staring former Green Bay Packers head coach, Mike Sherman.
Each new episode will subsequently debut each Sunday evening. “Sherman’s Warriors,” a six-episode series, shadows Sherman as he takes on a new role, coaching a high school football team in Cape Cod, Mass. – the Nauset Warriors. This story is the monumental piece that will garner the audience NBC anticipates absorbing.
“Our debut project, Sherman’s Warriors, is a reminder of what is most important in youth sports, with a focus on fun, teamwork and leadership as Coach Sherman looks to revitalize a football program.” – Brian Gilmore, Senior Director, Video, NBCSports.com shared with Awful Announcing.
Nonetheless, it is important to note that while all of these remarkable and engaging short films are being produced, the content generated is the digital wave of not just the future, but right now. ESPN, FS1, Bleacher Report, and sport reporters alike are already at the digital revolution party. It’s time for NBC to raise the bar and some fun too.