The partnership between the NFL and Skydance Sports is taking its next step with the formation of a “premier content studio aimed at creating must-watch storytelling and attracting everyone from hardcore football fans to people who otherwise have no real interest in the game,” according to Sam Farmer of the L.A. TIMES. The NFL is “looking to expand its audience with theatrical motion pictures and its first scripted streaming series.” It is “diving headlong into storytelling about the league” in the form of upcoming movies -- one about late Pro Football HOFer John Madden, another Christmas Day release about an “unlikely hero” for the Giants -- and “The Land,” a dramatic Hulu series centered on fictional characters and the Browns. The NFL “isn’t likely to sanction unflattering content, at least not much of it, yet the goal is to make the stories as realistic as possible.” “The Land” began production last fall but does not have an official premiere date. Dan Fogelman, who is writing and producing the series, “brought in actual NFL players as consultants to help with the storylines and make sure the details make sense.” NFL Films’ camera operators are “heavily involved in the production of both the upcoming movies and the streaming series.” What late NFL Films founders Ed and Steve Sabol created provides an “incredible library for future projects” (L.A. TIMES, 4/27).
NFL, Skydance broaden partnership with push into more scripted content
