30 for 30

Background

The idea for the series began in 2007 from ESPN.com columnist and Grantland.com founder Bill Simmons and ESPN's Connor Schell. The title, 30 for 30, derived from the series's genesis as 30 films in celebration of ESPN's 30th anniversary in 2009, with an exploration of the biggest stories from ESPN's first 30 years on-air, through a series of 30 one-hour films by 30 filmmakers.

Volume I premiered in October 2009 and ran to December 2010, chronicling 30 stories from the "ESPN era", beginning with the network's founding in 1979. Each film in Volume I details a striking sports issue or event that occurred during those three decades, including what Simmons describes as "stories that resonated at the time [they occurred] but were eventually forgotten for whatever reason." Subsequent films, including Volume II and online-only shorts, expanded the series beyond the "ESPN era".

In September 2014, Schell said, "Even though we have been at this for five years now, there is no shortage of incredible moments from the world of sports, so that enables us to continue making 30 for 30 films we're proud of." In 2010, John Dahl, Connor Schell and Simmons served as 30 for 30's executive producers. In April 2018, it was announced that the entire archive of 30 for 30 films and shorts would be available on ESPN+, ESPN's direct-to-consumer online platform, once the service launched on April 12, 2018.

Series overview

Main article: List of 30 for 30 films{{!}}List of ''30 for 30'' films

Reception

Critical response

The A.V. Club review for the eighth entry, Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks, called it "the most hotly anticipated [of the first eight]" and stated that "it more than lived up to the hype." Special praise was given to Brett Morgen's collage documentary June 17th, 1994 as a standout episode. The A.V. Club has given positive and negative reviews for different episodes in the series, with notable critical reviews of the three Volume I episodes that had involvement by the media production arms of Major League Baseball (Four Days in October), the NBA (Once Brothers) and NASCAR (Tim Richmond: To the Limit).

Ratings

The series had a slow beginning. The first film, Peter Berg's Kings Ransom, a chronicle of Wayne Gretzky's trade from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings, premiered on October 6, 2009, to poor ratings. Kings Ransom drew a 0.5 national rating and a total viewership of 645,000. As awareness and critical acclaim grew, the viewing audience also grew. By the seventh episode, The U, the audience had grown to a 1.8 rating and well over 2 million viewers.

Accolades

• 2010 Peabody Award Winner
• 2010 International Documentary Association's "Distinguished Continuing Series"
• 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short-Format Nonfiction Program
• 2016 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for O.J.: Made in America
• 2016 Peabody Award for O.J.: Made in America
• 2016 Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature for O.J.: Made in America
• 2019 Adweek Podcast Awards for Publisher-Hosted Podcast of the Year
• 2022 Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards for Best Broadcast Network or Cable Docuseries or Non-Fiction Series (nomination).
• 2022, 2024 and 2025 Critics Choice Documentary Awards for Best Ongoing Documentary Series.

Sponsors

Cadillac and Levi's are the presenting sponsors of the series. The Cadillac name appears on the 30 for 30 logo. The Levi's "go forth" slogan appears on the bottom corner of the screen during the directors interstitial comments, which appear for 45 seconds at the beginning of each film and 30 seconds at the end. Commercials for both companies were shown during every intermission during the original air dates, with Levi's guaranteed a 60-second commercial slot at the beginning of the third act.

Cadillac replaced Honda as a primary sponsor. During its time as a contributor, Honda aired parts of its "Dream the Impossible" documentary series in the first commercial break. During broadcasts in the UK on BT Sport, these sponsorship logos are blurred out due to compliance regulations.

References

References

1. Craggs, Tommy. (September 29, 2009). "Donald Trump Goes All Bitchcakes On A "Third-Rate" ESPN Filmmaker". [[Gawker Media]].
2. Schwartz, Bruce. (July 29, 2009). "30 stories for 30 years of ESPN". [[USA Today]].
3. "Bill Simmons on 30 for 30".
4. Cingari, Jennifer. (September 15, 2014). "Fall Slate Announced for ESPN Films' 30 for 30 as Fifth Anniversary of Series Approaches". ESPN MediaZone.
5. "John Dahl". ESPN MediaZone.
6. "Connor Schell". ESPN MediaZone.
7. (August 13, 2010). "Bill Simmons Biography". TVGuide.com.
8. Christie, Jennifer Cingari. (April 3, 2018). "ESPN+ to Launch with Exclusive 30 for 30 Documentary "The Last Days of Knight" and Full 30 for 30 Library". ESPN MediaZone.
9. Tobias, Scott. (March 15, 2010). "30 For 30 – "Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks"". [[The A.V. Club]].
10. [https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-lists/the-30-best-30-for-30-films-142965/june-17th-1994-dir-brett-morgen-223326/ The 30 Best '30 for 30' Films: The Fab Five, Reggie and 'The U' — Rolling Stone]
11. [https://www.avclub.com/30-for-30-june-17-1994-1798165241 30 For 30: "June 17, 1994"-A.V. Club]
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13. Tobias, Scott. (October 12, 2010). "''30 for 30'' – "Once Brothers"".
14. Tobias, Scott. (October 19, 2010). "''30 for 30'' – "Tim Richmond: To The Limit"".
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19. [http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/30-for-30 70th Annual Peabody Awards], May 2011.
20. Cingari, Jessica. (August 18, 2014). "ESPN Films' 30 for 30 Shorts Celebrates First Primetime Emmy Win". ESPN MediaZone.
21. [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/26/movies/oscar-winners.html Oscar Winners 2017], February 2017.
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24. [https://www.avclub.com/13th-o-j-made-in-america-top-this-year-s-peabody-doc-1798260765 13th, O.J.: Made In America top this year’s Peabody documentary winners. AV Club]
25. [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/2017-spirit-awards-oj-made-america-wins-best-documentary-979823 Spirit Awards: 'O.J.: Made in America' Wins Best Documentary. Hollywood Reporter]
26. (December 9, 2019). "Discover the Winners of Adweek's 2019 Podcast of the Year Awards".
27. Verhoeven, Beatrice. (July 7, 2022). "'This Is Us,' 'Succession,' 'Severance' Lead 2022 HCA TV Nominations".
28. Tinoco, Armando. (2022-11-14). "Critics Choice Documentary Awards: Amazon's 'Good Night Oppy' Tops Winners List".