As Inside the NFL celebrates its 50th anniversary and its second season airing on the social media platform X, NFL Films is reimagining the franchise—and producing it without an analyst roundtable.
Keith Cossrow, VP and head of content at NFL Films, used a Grateful Dead analogy to explain what the series will look like this season.
“I once read a description of Jerry Garcia describing the song ‘Dark Star,’” Cossrow told Front Office Sports. “And I think he said something to the effect of, ‘You don’t play ‘Dark Star,’ it’s always on. You kind of tap into it.’ Think of Inside the NFL as it’s always on all season.”
Mitch Smith, X’s global head of content partnerships, told FOS that Inside the NFL will “still maintain their pedigree for premium storytelling while adapting to what the fans want in a more short-form and direct-to-consumer environment really well.”
“While there might not be the roundtables, they are leaning into the cinematic access that they have and the sights and sounds and player-driven content because we’ve seen how well that performs,” Smith said.
Last month, X launched the NFL Gametime feed, giving it prime placement alongside the “following” and “for you” tabs.
Inside the NFL aired on HBO from 1977-2008, and then had stints on Showtime, Paramount+, and The CW before landing on X last year. Cossrow sees the “core DNA” of the program as “the first draft of history,” delivering behind-the-scenes footage of the games.
“We will constantly be tapping into Inside the NFL with every great game, every great wire [mic’d up moment] with a superstar [player or] head coach, and delivering to our fans in the most immediate way possible,” Cossrow said. “Our best stuff every day, meeting them where they are on a social media platform that spans the globe. And where it’s clear the NFL conversation kind of lives all day, every day.”
Inside the NFL began this perpetual format during its debut on X last season, but it also included a roundtable discussion with Ryan Clark, Chad Ochocinco, and Bruce Arians—just as it has with various analysts throughout its history. Cossrow explained why NFL Films decided to forgo that element this year.
“It didn’t connect with audiences in a way that demanded it return,” Cossrow said. “We didn’t think it reflected the visual quality and brand of Inside the NFL, and not having them together in one place, as we had had going all the way back to Len Dawson and Cris Collinsworth, when those guys were together, and even two years ago we shot Inside the NFL at the NFL Films studio for The CW with Clark hosting with Bill Belichick, Chris Long, and Chad.”
