The long-running NFL breakdown show Inside the NFL is changing again.
The CW and NFL Films, which produce Inside the NFL, announced Bill Belichick’s addition to a refreshed cast this week, but there is a lot more beyond that huge addition as the show settles in for its second year on The CW Network.
Most importantly, as announced in the Belichick press release, Inside the NFL will move from Tuesday nights to Friday nights. This move creates a ripple effect that significantly alters the show’s format.
Rather than simply reliving the past week’s NFL slate using behind-the-scenes footage from NFL Films and analysis from the panel, a Friday edition of Inside the NFL will be more forward-looking, previewing the upcoming weekend’s games. Think less documentary, more predictions.
“The move to Fridays will refresh the structure of Inside the NFL to set the stage for the upcoming weekend’s games while still utilizing NFL Films’ game footage and mic’d up moments combined with analysis from our panel of experts,” said a CW spokesperson.
After Netflix paid to stream Inside the NFL on its platform for the final five weeks of the 2023 NFL season, a representative from the NFL confirmed the show would not appear on Netflix this year, but Awful Announcing has learned that the door is still open to having some type of partial run on Netflix similar to last year. With Netflix airing NFL games this year, it’s very possible Netflix may be open to adding more NFL programming closer to those December games.
As for The CW’s choice to move Inside the NFL to Friday nights, remember that The CW will be the exclusive home of WWE NXT starting in October. The WWE minor league show will take that Tuesday night slot.
This likely impacted Netflix’s interest in continuing Inside the NFL deal as Netflix may not view the show as a good investment on its new release schedule, particularly considering that under the previous arrangement, Netflix did not post episodes until the day after they aired on The CW. With episodes now airing on Fridays and focusing on previews for Sunday, there isn’t a big window for the show on Netflix to not go stale.
On the talent side, while Belichick will join host Ryan Clark and analysts Chad Johnson and Chris Long in a rejuvenated cast, Clark’s Pivot cohost Channing Crowder and journeyman quarterback Jay Cutler are leaving. Crowder hosts a daily radio show in South Florida in addition to The Pivot, so perhaps the show no longer fits into his schedule.
There is something to be said for energizing a show with hosts who are recognizable to younger viewers as popular podcast hosts (or a legendary coach), but losing some of the focus on NFL Films footage element will change Inside the NFL dramatically. Will the loss of Netflix and the new format hurt or help the NFL Films stalwart?
Clearly, The CW and NFL Films are banking that the brilliance of Belichick and the other hosts will shine through. For some audiences, it will, but we’ll see if long-time viewers embrace the new direction.