Football season is rapidly approaching, sending some of the most ravenous fan base’s into a 24-hour football frenzy. Fans get pumped for preseason games and even video clips of the team’s fall two a days. The NFL and even some college teams have taken advantage of this preseason craze, charging fans to watch guys who will be out the league in two weeks and in the form of TV shows.
“Hard Knocks,” an HBO Sports series that follows a NFL team and its players through training camp, has been a hit since it first aired. The show depicts not only the on the field struggles of the team, but also what guys on the bubble go through to try and earn a roster spot. In my opinion, shows like this have drastically helped the growth of the sport.
Would something like Hard Knocks help basketball grow?
In the last year or so we’ve seen small YouTube series on players and prospects pop up. If done correctly, they receive a high number of views and likes. This can be something to increase interest in the NBA and even just basketball in general. I am not saying that this is a sure fire way to pull NFL or College Football like numbers, but enough for basketball to step out of football’s shadow.
Basketball would even have a bit of a head start when it comes to marketing the show. For one, we the consumer, have seen Hard Knocks success and will instinctually be attracted to a show with a similar format. In addition to this, a lot of fans already know the players, who they are, what they look like, and maybe even a little about them. Basketball and the NBA will bring star power to the show—something Hard Knocks hasn’t been able to do on a regular basis.
Yes, we all are interested to see where Joe NoName from the division three school in Montana will end up, but how many more would want to see what LeBron James or Kobe Bryant does during training camp. If the Joe NoName aspect is what attracts you, then follow one of these teams through the summer league. Who wouldn’t have wanted to watch college basketball stars like Quinn Cook or Aaron Harrison fight for spots on a roster this year? Maybe follow a Nuggets franchise who just lost its coach and star player try to start building around a young Emmanuel Mudiay. The possibilities are endless when it comes to this format. You can literally take it a 1,000 different directions and it will still come out interesting.
What do you think? Can the Hard Knocks model work for basketball? Can a big-time network build off what these small YouTube series have started? I say yes, but what do you think? Join the conversation on Twitter @TIPnumber3.