Behind-the-scenes series on sports teams or events have been a thing for some time, but they’re perhaps having even more of a moment lately. Boxing has long featured those with 24/7 and beyond, as has the NFL with Hard Knocks and All Or Nothing, while hockey has seen behind-the-scenes series on the Winter Classic (24/7 and Road To The Winter Classic) and the NHL playoffs (Quest For The Stanley Cup), soccer has had a variety of team-centric documentaries and series, and the success of Box to Box Films’ Netflix series Formula 1: Drive To Survive has led to that company doing further ones for golf and tennis. The NBA now has a new original Chasing History behind-the-scenes series on this year’s playoffs coming to their app, with the first episode set to air Saturday. Here’s more on that from a release:
The NBA today announced the debut of “Chasing History,” an original NBA Entertainment multi-part series, which will stream on the NBA App beginning Apr. 15. From the AT&T NBA Play-In Tournament through the NBA Finals when a champion is crowned, the series will provide fans behind-the-scenes access to teams and players as they compete for a title and chase milestones. The docuseries will combine exclusive access with cinematic storytelling and explore key storylines that develop throughout the playoffs.
“Chasing History” will tip off on April 15 with a glimpse at the race for the 7th and 8th seed, followed by an in-depth look at the Sacramento Kings’ long-awaited return to the playoffs and the new-look Phoenix Suns starting their postseason journey.
The series will culminate in the NBA Finals with one episode per game, replicating the cadence and style of the NBA’s traditional “minimovies.”
Here’s a trailer for this:
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1646211589463326741
This particular behind-the-scenes series fits a larger recent pattern of increased original programming on the NBA app, including NBA Rewind with Ahmad Rashad, Pass the Rock, Throw It Down with Bill Walton, Gold Blooded and more. They relaunched their app (part of NBA Digital, their joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery Sports) with a new look in September, and it saw more than a billion video views this season, more than triple the total from the previous season. And bringing in an original behind-the-series like this should help boost those app stats even more.
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.