Largely boxed out from prime-time regular-season Cowboys games by NBC, which has an annual three-to-one advantage, and outside the lines when it comes to training camp sagas as brought to you by HBO’s Hard Knocks, ESPN has come up with a way to add Cowboys content to its programming lineup.
Coming to a TV set near you on Aug. 4, a Tuesday, will be a live 90-minute special from the Cowboys’ Oxnard, Calif., training camp.
The idea is to take viewers through an afternoon practice with Kenny Mayne, Jon Gruden and Darren Woodson as tour guides.
This will be ESPN’s second such foray into training camp. Last summer the concept debuted with the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. If you think the New England Patriots, the Seahawks’ successors as kings of the hill, would be the logical choice for this summer, you haven’t been paying attention.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick would rather have outside cameras at his anesthesia-less root canal than invite them into his training camp laboratory. The Patriots, history has shown, prefer to be on the other side of the lens.
So when ESPN producer Jay Rothman decided on an encore performance of his inside training camp experiment, he went directly to a team with “meat on the bone” that doesn’t mind offering a taste. The Cowboys provide the perfect ingredients, including an owner who likes cameras and a magnet that draws eyeballs.
In an interview this week, Rothman said he approached the receptive Cowboys at the Super Bowl and got the final approval last month.
“Jerry Jones is terrific, he gets it,” said Rothman, whose main role is producing Monday Night Football. “And there’s no secret that with the Cowboys, the ratings are big.”
(Note: The Cowboys-Redskins appearance on Monday Night Football in October was easily the highest-rated and most-watched game on ESPN last season.)
The idea for the training camp series popped into Rothman’s head while he watched an ESPN special that focused on Boston Red Sox batting practice soon after the start of the 2014 season.
(Added note: The other team taking batting practice that day at Fenway Park was the Rangers.)
Rothman thought the idea would easily translate to the NFL.
Unlike Hard Knocks, which lingers at training camps and depends on character development, Rothman’s production will rely on Xs and Os. Already he has met with Gruden and Woodson for six hours of Cowboys film study.
You might expect ESPN to “mike up” several players, coaches and a certain general manager. But that won’t be the case.
Rothman explained he tried that approach with the Seahawks and didn’t like the results. Besides, it’s always dangerous to have hot microphones in a live athletic setting.
Toward the end of our conversation, Rothman noted that although his show, scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m., was booked for 90 minutes, it could go longer.
(Final note: Last season Gruden sat down with Jones for what was to be a four-minute feature. They talked much longer. Rothman deemed it worthy for more. There was “enough meat on the bone” for a 30-minute special, which drew surprisingly strong ratings.)
Most assuredly there will be replays of the Cowboys training camp show on a variety of ESPN networks. Who knows? This could translate into an annual event. Maybe even a series. When it comes to the Cowboys, the networks’ appetites are insatiable.
Credit to the Dallas News who originally published this article
Jason Barrett is the President and Founder of Barrett Media since the company was created in September 2015. Prior to its arrival, JB served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He also spent time programming SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Jason also worked on-air and behind the scenes in local radio at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years on the national stage, producing radio shows for ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT. Among them included the Dan Patrick Show, and GameNight.
You can find JB on Twitter @SportsRadioPD. He’s also reachable by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
