Yahoo’s Puck Daddy was told by an industry source that the NHL is close to finalizing a deal with Showtime for an all access show that will be recorded during the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup. They are also reporting that it will be a weekly show that runs similarly to the old 24/7 in format.
Showtime has some experience with these types of shows so it shouldn’t be too far outside of its wheelhouse. Yahoo is also reporting that this new series won’t impact the NHL’s relationship with EPIX. EPIX if you are unaware now does the “Road to the Winter Classic” series and it has been met with middling results. Fan reaction and network reaction has just been “okay”, which is not really a revelation by any means. More of maintaining the status quo.
I don’t think that this show is going to show us anything that we haven’t seen before, but that remains to be seen. Showtime isn’t on the same level as say HBO, but they are definitely a step above EPIX. They could demand more access and that access is going to be coming at the most critical point of the season for all of these teams. Which begs the question, who the hell agreed to this? I am sure we will be seeing coaches throwing stuff and cursing to their heart’s content. Maybe we will see real genuine emotion – something that was missing from a lot of the most recent all access shows.
One can only hope that it goes to new and unique places. I find that the show is much more accessible when it is more fly on the wall than interview based. It’ll be interesting to hear what Showtime has to say about the show and how they envision it,.I wonder if they will stray far from the tried and true format that both HBO and EPIX have used. It would be one heck of a time to experiment with it.
