Inside the Den 2024 Episode 1: 2023 Season in Review
The 7th Annual Awards
- Best Original Film or Series: Long-Form
ABOUT THIS ENTRY
Go behind-the-scenes of the Detroit Lions' historic 2023 season with never-before-seen footage and behind the scene moments of the journey leading to the team's first NFC North Title.
How does this represent "Excellence in Engagement"?
This is the longest video the Detroit Lions have ever created. I would assume it’s the longest video that an NFL team has ever produced by itself. I think a lot of people in the industry looked at a team-produced documentary that had a run time over three times the industry-standard and immediately thought it would fail. But I think this episode of Inside the Den proved that fans have an appetite for behind-the-scenes content, no matter the length. If the content is being produced at an exceptional quality with good pacing, people will continue to watch. I think the biggest lesson is that teams and organizations should not be afraid to take risks when it comes to run time and trust their audience. The Detroit Lions have an incredible fan base, starving for success on the field and good content off it. Knowing this, it did not feel like a risk to make a video with the run time of a full-length movie and the results above spoke form themselves afterward.
Objective
The objective was to tell the story of the 2023 Detroit Lions, a team that won the organization’s first ever NFC North title and won two playoff games, more than the previous 67 years combined. The aim was to interweave the highs and lows of an NFL season with stories of the specific players that made the 2023 team so special.
Strategy & Execution
Made specifically for YouTube, the video was designed to tell the story of the season without any constraints on length. To tell the full story it was important not to leave any important details out while also acknowledging that the pace would be critical and the video couldn’t feel like it was dragging along. With a perfectly paced piece, fans will continue to consume the content for as long as the content allows. Because of this, a well-paced 1:42:36 video chronicling the team’s season didn’t feel too long.
Organizations
- Detroit Lions
Credits
Derek Heitman
Senior Producer
Detroit Lions
Neil Larson
Production Manager
Detroit Lions
Ryan McPhail
Senior Producer
Detroit Lions
Maxwell Maxwell Hahn
Senior Producer
Detroit Lions
Erin Gibson
Prodicer
Detroit Lions
Celebrate in NYC
Join us for the 7th Annual Hashtag Sports Awards™ on the evening of June 24, 2025 as we celebrate finalists and reveal the winners of this year's awards live during the show.
