Second Screen Can Make “Hard Knocks” Just That Much Better…

There are few, if any, more well written and well-told series on broadcast than HBO’s “Hard Knocks.” No matter how mundane the day, the cameras of NFL Films, combined with exquisite direction and writing can deliver moving and impactful stories of the lives of previously unknown or little known NFL players like nothing else. The format has worked in almost all of HBO’s award winning efforts, from “24/7” to their “Winter Classic” series, each time giving casual fans a look inside the minds and the lives of athletes and those around them like never before.

This year the cameras go back to Cincinnati and focus on the players and personalities of Marvin Lewis’ Cincinnati Bengals, a team which has risen to the playoffs in recent years but now seeks to make the jump to another level. The second time participants in the series will have a different cast of characters than the first time. Some maybe right now not as engaging as the first time around…no Chad Johnson to disrupt the flow and bring interest and drama like the first time “Hard Knocks” went to Cincy. However episode one, which premiered Tuesday night, set the stage with more on field insight than ever before, and also a little look into the bigger issues of the NFL with how, in real time, potential concussion issues were handled.

However it is in the drama of the human condition that sport thrives and the show captured it at the very end with popular free agent and local hero Larry Black leaving the facility in tears with a season ending ankle and leg injury. Those images are what scores for the series. Even when other shows look to duplicate the “Hard Knocks” system, they somehow usually fall short, because of the timing, the dedication and the dollars HBO and the NFL out behind the production.

So how to make it better? HBO is already providing scores of added footage and commentary post-show through their solid online companion sites, but what about real time? They drive attention with the #Hardknocks hashtag on twitter, providing those first-time watchers with a repository for comment. So why not now expand the second screen experience with real time interaction from players, and maybe even coaches engaged in the show. Black’s injury was devastating, and his rehab, since the show only goes through the preseason, will be tough to follow long term. How about, if he is interested, engaging him in answering questions and commenting on the shows as they transpire over the next few weeks. People who watched now “know him” for the first time, and they can identify with his pain and disappointment, so maybe use the second screen…Google hangouts, twitter chats, maybe a small video link…to bring him back. The show also airs Tuesday nights, which may be a quiet night or an hour for staff. Maybe hook up the episode star with the ability to react and answer questions as things unfold, like entertainment shows that are taped are now doing. It might be out of the question for some, but an Adam Jones or a James Harrison joining in could drive numbers and engagement for the series and also help amplify the Bengals brand nationally.

Make no mistake there is little wrong with “Hard Knocks” now, so trying to fix something that is not already broken may not be necessary.  However we live more and more in a world that wants more content, engagement and access, and pulling a true second screen experience…one that is interactive, into what is already a great taped event could make it just a little greater, and can raise the bar even higher for competitors, not to mention enhancing the players and the personalities that are being brought more to light than ever before.