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Espinoza’s different path has led Showtime into new sports

Stephen Espinoza has kept Showtime in the boxing biz, but he has focused on inside-access shows like one with Florida State football.
Photo by: AP IMAGES
W hen Stephen Espinoza took over as the head of Showtime Sports in 2011, the division was hardly a force. Back then, it was known mostly for its boxing and MMA matches and “Inside the NFL” series, and it lagged well behind its biggest competitor, HBO Sports.

Showtime hired Espinoza from a law firm that represented several well-known boxers, and the belief was that the premium cable network would be content to build out its boxing business.

But Espinoza decided to venture down a different path. He signed programming deals with established leagues like the NHL (“Quest for the Stanley Cup”) and MLB (“The Franchise”) and looked to program high-quality shows that provided inside access. Espinoza’s plan was not to cover leagues as closely as ESPN or Fox Sports. Rather, Espinoza looked to get inside access to big-time sports, similar to what HBO popularized with its “24/7” series with the NHL and boxing.

“Championship boxing and ‘Inside the NFL’ were certainly the flagships of our sports programming,” said Espinoza, executive vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports. “There are all-sports networks that are covering pro football and college football from almost every conceivable angle. It’s really our responsibility and obligation to provide something different.”

Espinoza landed deals with the NHL and MLB. But he really wanted to get into college football. He recognized college football’s popularity, and believed that a show providing inside access would complement “Inside the NFL” during the fall. Last year, Showtime went behind the scenes with Notre Dame football. This season, it will be documenting Florida State’s football team.

“It took some time, but we found a format in ‘A Season With’ that we believe provides a unique view on top-tier college football programs and the student athletes within them,” he said. “The key for us is that it has to be unique and exclusive and something different than what other sports networks are doing.”

Espinoza is not done dealing. He wants other sports to allow Showtime’s cameras behind-the-scenes access. The NBA and MLB are at the top of his current wish list. He plans to pitch the NBA on a series that would document teams during the playoffs.

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“Particularly coming off the season that just occurred, we would love to figure out a way into the NBA,” Espinoza said. “It is at a peak of popularity and there are so many interesting characters within the sport.”

On MLB, Espinoza is hoping to follow up on a show like “The Franchise,” which followed one team all season long.

“We still have conversations with MLB each year,” he said. “‘The Franchise’ format could come back. Or maybe there’s another format closer to what we do with the NHL … focusing on postseason play.”

Espinoza’s programming plan will be evident this week with the new season launches of “60 Minutes Sports,” “Inside the NFL” and “A Season With Florida State Football.” Showtime’s programming strategy is to devote Tuesday nights to sports programing like this. Previously, Showtime carried sports on Wednesday nights, but Espinoza thought that “Inside the NFL,” in particular, did not work as well when it was so close to “Thursday Night Football.”

“As the Thursday NFL games grew in number and prominence, we found a need to push back ‘Inside the NFL’ to a point where it was closer to the Sunday games and not pushed up against the Thursday night games,” he said. “So the Wednesday night block became the Tuesday night block. That’s really where we scheduled the premieres because in an increasingly competitive and fragmented landscape, stacking them in that way — at least for the premiere viewing — makes it a little bit more memorable.”

Espinoza was giddy about next month’s premiere of “One and Done,” a documentary following Ben Simmons in his one year of college basketball.

“When we started the endeavor, we suspected he could be the No. 1 pick in 2016,” Espinoza said. “That actually came to pass, which was a bit of a relief because spending 18 months shooting the No. 28 draft pick would not have been quite as compelling.”

John Ourand can be reached at jourand@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ourand_SBJ.

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