On the Gridiron: New York Giants Entertain At-Home Fans With Daily Digital, Linear Programming

On the Gridiron: New York Giants Entertain At-Home Fans With Daily Digital, Linear Programming The organization is ramping up its content delivery on multiple fronts By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor

Wednesday, October 14, 2020 - 11:00 am

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Many professional sports have opted for a return to play inside a sanitized bubble. Not the NFL. Without skipping a beat, the league is soldiering on with regular-season games in all 30 stadiums across the country. Similar to our At the Ballpark series, On the Gridiron examines the new routines, habits, and production philosophies of in-venue personnel on any given Thursday, Sunday, or Monday.

In what has become a down year for the franchise, the New York Giants are still running full steam ahead in the content game. As the team continues to play in front of empty seats in MetLife Stadium, the organization's production staff is ramping up digestible and interactive material on its digital and linear channels to maintain a connection with fans watching from the couch.

The week leading up to a game is a story, says Don Sperling, VP/executive producer, New York Giants. This is our way of keeping the interests of fans for seven days a week and 24 hours a day. If you're a Giants fan, you can never be bored, because you have enough to keep you entertained throughout the whole week.

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High Volume of Content: Week-Long Programming Keeps Diehard Fans Informed Known for a wide array of ancillary content accompanying the live broadcast, the New York Giants are continuing this tradition by bridging a gap between the faithful stuck at home and the four-time Super Bowl champions. Via digital avenues, including the team's website at Giants.com, the Giants mobile app, the Giants YouTube channel, and various social-media accounts, fans are experiencing a surplus of content to keep them busy during the week as well as before and after a game.

The Joe Judge Report examines critical plays of the past week.

To bolster the team's programming reach, the franchise has developed four shows airing this season on MSG Networks and WWOR-TV. On Mondays, head coach Joe Judge and sportscaster Bob Papa break down some of the most critical offensive, defensive, and special teams' plays of the past week on The Joe Judge Report. Later in the week, Giants First & 10 - which airs on Friday, Saturday, and before the game on Sunday - sets the table with the 10 most important storylines and matchups to watch. The show is hosted by Papa and former linebacker Carl Banks, but other Giants personalities and alumni also join the show: former wide receiver Victor Cruz, former offensive linemen Shaun O'Hara and David Diehl, and reporters Madelyn Burke and Paul Dottino. On Saturday night, Giants Access Blue - a behind-the-scenes, off-the-field, backstage magazine show - airs at 11 p.m. on WWOR-TV. After the game, the Giants Postgame Wrap-Up sums up the action.

For a bit of nostalgia unrelated to the upcoming game, the weekend is packed with episodes of Giants Chronicles, a 30-minute show that recaps some of the greatest moments and players in the organization's 95-year history. For example, the story of the 1990 season, which ended in a Super Bowl victory, was retold for its 30th anniversary.

Oikos Strongest Play of the Week with Shaun O'Hara is among the content streamed exclusively on digital platforms.

To establish a cohesive and cross-platform initiative, non-linear platforms will include repurposed televised material and digital exclusives: Oikos Strongest Play of the Week with O'Hara; 2 Minute Drill; Sights and Sounds; Above the Numbers with Diehl, Cruz and Dottino; Audible with Burke and Cruz; and Crossfire with Banks and former tight end Howard Cross. To add a more-personal touch, current players, such as wide receiver Darius Slayton, participate in the short Know Your Giant.

Shift in Priorities: In-Venue Crew Caters to Players, Sponsors Although a long list of offerings are served up to fans during the week, the team's main priority on game day is a live videoboard show. Without loyal fans in the seats, the production strategy has changed quite a bit. The visuals would normally be designed to fire up a large swath of spectators, but, today, these elements are targeting the folks wearing the helmets and headsets down below.

Senior Director, Production and Events, Christine Baluyot runs the in-venue videoboard show.

[Our show] is 99% about the team, so we're playing videos when they're on defense, music on third down, and the different chants that we always do, says Sperling. We're still using our three EVS [replay] machines and super-slow-motion 4K camera to give our coach replays to look at. Those are some of the things that we're doing to make sure that

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