Notre Dame football players this season have "had to adjust" to a TV crew of about dozen "following them daily" as part of Showtime's "A Season With Notre Dame" cable series, according to Tom Coyne of the AP. The number of crew members "grows to more than 50 on game days," and some players said that the presence of the cameras "had been awkward at first." Notre Dame RB C.J. Prosise said, "At times it can be a little much, a little bit of a hassle. But it's kind of cool to say you have your own TV show and you're part of a TV show." Coyne noted Showtime has "shown Notre Dame in a positive light," though coach Brian Kelly "wasn't happy it aired a teaser" with him telling the team that OT Ronnie Stanley was not able to accept being a captain. The scene "wasn't included in the program," and Stanley "later revealed the reason he couldn't was because of parking violations." Showtime Sports Exec VP & GM Stephen Espinoza said that the net "had apologized." He added that Showtime "works with the university on story lines and putting the show together and retains control over program content." Coyne notes the school is "aware of what scenes Showtime plans to use, but doesn't see the full program until it airs." Players "had the option of signing releases and can ask not to be filmed when they choose." Espinoza said that the net was "pleased with the weekly 30-minute show." He said, "There's been a lot of drama within the program." The first three episodes averaged 663,000 viewers across all platforms, and Espinoza said that viewership has compared "favorably with Showtime's most popular sports series, 'Inside the NFL,' and is the third-most watched program through its streaming service." Espinoza added that Showtime is "interested in doing another show next year with Notre Dame or another school" (AP, 10/22).
HOURS TO MINUTES: In South Bend, Eric Hansen wrote the Showtime crews "actually capture way more than they actually use." Showtime Exec Producer Jason Sciavicco said that they "shoot an average of 20 to 30 hours of footage a day on the six days leading up to a game and another 45 on game day itself." The filming takes place "in team meetings, position meetings, in the classroom, in dorms, in press conferences, even on the putt-putt course." Roughly 180 hours of footage is "boiled down to 30 minutes." Sciavicco: "Our guys are editing 24 hours a day, seven days a week kind of thing and especially over the weekend. We have a full staff that basically starts on Friday and doesn’t leave until the show’s delivered around lunchtime on Tuesday." He also said that Showtime "has the final say on what actually gets on the air, but the producers do collaborate with Notre Dame to get the right context and to make sure there’s a comfort level between the parties." Sciavicco: "It’s a partnership. But there’s not a meeting, to this point, that we’ve been kicked out of. There’s not a meeting that has been closed doors to us. We’ve been given complete and full access, and we tell the stories that we feel like are the best stories to tell" (SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE, 10/25).
