EPIX reveals plans to overhaul, expand NHL’s ‘24/7'
Mark Greenberg’s Times Square office sits across the street from what used to be a Virgin Megastore, a behemoth of commerce that tourists and locals used to swarm for the latest CDs and DVDs.
It closed in 2009.
It’s now a Forever 21.
“The world is evolving. How will you evolve with it?” is something Greenberg, the CEO of the Epix pay cable network, asks his potential partners. It’s something he asked NHL commissioner Gary Bettman when the two talked about bringing the League’s Winter Classic reality programming from HBO to Epix.
“[Our] CEO shows up to negotiations. I’m not sure that was the case with HBO," he quipped.
They both knew that HBO had provided a template for success in its “24/7” series, which aired three, four-episode seasons featuring six NHL teams. The results changed the way fans saw the players, coaches and hockey life – raw language, stunning imagery and editing that revealed off-the-ice drama to which we’d not previously been privy.
“They did a lot of smart things. Take the smart things that were there, and expand them,” said Greenberg.
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That not only means doubling the episodes of an NHL reality series in order to cover two outdoor games, but blowing up the barriers that prevented fans from watching the subscription-based programming on HBO.
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Greenberg worked for HBO for eight years and Showtime for 17, where he ran Showtime boxing and was the driving force behind their forays into digital media, launching their OnDemand service.
His mission, simply, was to find ways to have viewers access programming whenever they wanted it, however they wanted it.
Epix is available to 50 million viewers, but it's a subscription service. The key to the deal with the NHL was to create a means by which hockey fans had wider access to the pay cable show, while the pay cable network had a wider consumer base to which it could pitch its service.
So the NHL reality shows will air on Epix at 10 p.m. on the East Coast at the same time they stream on Epix.com and NHL.com. It’ll be the same uncensored program, complete with the colorful language we all loved on “24/7.” Which means that, yes, F-bombs will appear on the League’s official website, at least on the night the episode airs.
The shows will then be archived on Epix.com, which fans can access through a free trial subscription with the cable network.
“We’re willing to go beyond the pay TV wall,” he said.
But Greenberg’s plans go well beyond the content available over the air.
“For the person who wants a great 55-minute hour, that’s what they’ll get. For the person who just wants more, why not give it to them? We have the capacity for that.”
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If you’re looking for how an Epix NHL show will build on “24/7,” look toward the iron man in the sky…
Epix did a documentary on “Iron Man 2” that Greenberg takes pride in, not just for the behind the scenes interviews with Robert Downey, Jr. but because of the stories it told behind the scenes.
Iron Man 2 Behind The Lot 30 Minute Show from Derek Ingber on Vimeo.
Talking to the production designers, like the guy who made the Arc Reactor. Bringing the full picture to life.
He felt that’s where HBO fumbled the puck on its NHL show.
“I think that’s what was missing in the heart and soul. You had the authenticity, but I think you add dimension to that authenticity,” he said.
How does one do that without ruining the narrative of the show? By telling more stories outside of the 55-minute episodes each week, via streaming video.
“The word is digital. You have a 58-minute hour. I think we’ll be able to use the world of digital to extend the story, enhance the story," said Greenberg.
Epix’s plan for the NHL is to continue a high-quality hour of television, but expand that world to digital media. Of course, this is a handy way to bring more subscribers to the free trial on Epix.com.
(There will also be footage that Epix places on YouTube as well.)
So while the main show paints the Big Picture, viewers will be able to follow smaller stories or meet lesser players via the web. Hours of footage, available on demand.
"Stuff that’s on the cutting room floor that’s real, and maybe don’t fit into the overall story arc,” said Greenberg.
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Greenberg loves this partnership, because he feels the NHL is surging at the moment.
“I thought last year’s NHL playoff were extraordinary. Some of the best drama that was out there,” he said.
He said the Winter Classic, featuring the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks, and the Stadium Series game featuring the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks, tap into the “innocence of childhood” and the “fundamental things we love about sports.”
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But he says the shows will go beyond that, finding new layers of storytelling and drama to make the Epix productions something more than a pale comparison to “24/7.”
He’s confident that there will be enough material to accomplish that without the formula becoming stale.
“I’m happy there are two series. I’d be concerned if there were 10,” he said.
