Inside the NFL

Inside the NFL is an American weekly television

Each NFL season, the program airs from Week 1 of the regular season until the week after the Super Bowl. The show principally features highlights of the past week's games that were captured by NFL Films, in addition to commentary and analysis by the hosts, and occasional interviews with current and former NFL players and personnel.

The show originally aired on HBO from 1977 through 2008. Following Super Bowl XLII, it moved to Showtime, airing there until 2021, when it moved to streaming service Paramount+. In April 2023, it was reported that Paramount+ would drop the show; it was picked up by The CW later that June.

History

Inside the NFL first aired in

From 1999 to 2001, the hosts of Inside the NFL appeared on HBO's corporate cousin, Cartoon Network, hosting faux pregame shows for the network's Big Game specials (featuring classic theatrical cartoons edited together as a parody of the Super Bowl).

2001–2006

After the 2001 NFL season, Len Dawson and Nick Buoniconti retired from the show. From 2002–2007 seasons, the show was hosted by Bob Costas with former players Dan Marino, Cris Collinsworth, and Cris Carter serving as co-hosts. Bob Costas acknowledged this change in the season's first episode and paid tribute to the former hosts, saying they paved the way for the show to succeed. In addition to the change in hosts, Inside the NFL also featured segments featuring comics such as George Lopez, Jim Florentine, Lewis Black and Wanda Sykes.

During the last three weeks of the

In a special 30th anniversary episode that aired in December 2006, Len Dawson and Nick Buoniconti were invited back to co-host the show.

2008–2023: Showtime and Paramount+

On February 6, 2008, HBO suddenly announced that the show would end its run after 31 seasons. HBO Sports cited increased competition in NFL-related programming since the show's inception as a reason for its cancellation.^[2] Skeptics, however, believe that the real reason for HBO's decision to drop the show was due to the increasing cost for usage of the NFL Films produced highlights.^[3] In the final episode, a taped montage with highlights from the series' 31 seasons was aired. In addition, former hosts Dawson and Buoniconti did the final signoff as the credits rolled. Bob Costas soon regarded the cancellation by HBO as being a "boneheaded" move.^[4]

On June 3, 2008,

On February 24, 2021, it was announced that Inside the NFL would move from Showtime to Paramount+, with former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman also becoming a part of the series.^[10][11] The season premiered on September 7, 2021.^[12]

On April 5, 2023, it was reported that Paramount+ canceled the show, with the NFL shopping it to other outlets.^[13]

2023-present: The CW

On June 7, 2023, it was announced that The CW picked up the series, which premiered on September 5, 2023.^[14] On August 30, 2023, it was announced that former Steelers safety Ryan Clark would be the show's new host, along with Channing Crowder, Jay Cutler, Chad Johnson and Chris Long as analysts.^[15]

In January 2024, episodes became available next-day on streaming service Netflix.^[16]

Format

Much like other shows on pay-cable networks and streaming providers, Inside the NFL has the freedom to stray from the traditional network format for its program. While the basic elements were the same as any other sports recap show by featuring highlights of the week's games and discussion of events around the league, the fact that there were no commercials allows the panel to discuss subjects at length without the normal network time restrictions.

Highlights

The highlight segments consist of NFL Films footage of the past week's games with narration by Scott Graham (previously Harry Kalas until his death in 2009). This has long been considered a major asset of the show as the game highlights are filmed and packaged longer than the average highlights package using game broadcast video and without any digital on-screen graphics marring the presentation. It also aired on premium services, meaning there was no advertising through the hour.

In the last few years of Inside the NFL, the show removed lower-profile games for more extended analysis of the top games; the transition to The CW will likely remove some games to account for it now being a program with traditional advertising.

Interviews

Aside from the highlights, Inside the NFL features in-depth interview segments with various players, coaches and front office personnel. Among the notable segments over the years was

The show continues to be produced by NFL Films, led by executive producers Ross Ketover, Pat Kelleher and Keith Cossrow.[16]

References