The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Paul Bond reported NFL Network "is adding two more original series to its lineup plus a one-hour special, giving it 31 hours of unscripted and documentary programming this upcoming season, more than ever before and marking a 10-fold increase over the past five years." An eight-episode series from Leftfield Pictures that has the working title "Northern Lights" premieres Sept. 17 and "follows the Barrow High School Whalers," who attend school "at the northernmost point in the U.S." Another new series is "likened" to the net's documentary series "A Football Life," which returns for a fifth season on Sept. 18. While NFL Net will not announce the new show until October, sources said that it "will profile teams, events and topics in six one-hour episodes" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 8/31).
DAWG PILE: Former "Cleveland Browns Daily" host Vic Carucci said that the Browns produce so much content that the team’s "all-encompassing media model is one other NFL clubs are attempting to emulate." Carucci: "The on-field part has been a perpetual struggle. But the off-field stuff, the digital media and stuff that helps generate revenue and conversation, I think they’re second to none." In Cleveland, Kevin Kleps notes when the Browns agreed to a long-term partnership with WEWS-ABC last November, it "brought with it the addition of a pair of year-round Sunday shows -- 'Inside the Cleveland Browns' and 'Dawg Pound Report.'" Coupled with the station’s preseason broadcasts and the "innovative radio rights agreement that the Browns struck with three Cleveland radio stations in 2013, it’s difficult to find a day on the calendar that doesn’t include at least one official team program" (CRAIN'S CLEVELAND BUSINESS, 8/31 issue).
DOWNSTREAM MOVEMENT: CBS Sports is increasing its NFL streaming this season, including two regular-season games, four playoff games and Super Bowl 50. Streaming begins with Jets-Dolphins from London at 9:30am ET on Oct. 4, which will mark the first NFL regular-season game to be streamed live, as it precedes the Oct. 25 Bills-Jaguars game on Yahoo. CBS also will stream Panthers-Cowboys, marking the first time a Thanksgiving Day game has been streamed. Each streamed game will continue to be aired on TV (CBS).
