• The SEG3 Report
  • Posts
  • ESPN + NFL Deliver Real-Time Simpsons Animated Broadcast

ESPN + NFL Deliver Real-Time Simpsons Animated Broadcast

& NBA 2K partners with TNT Sports and Genius for alternate broadcast + the Premier League & Rezzil launch VR game

Author

Joe Condon
December 10, 2024

Hey there - Edition #39 comes to you on the eve of SEG3 LA - we’re looking forward to meeting many of you IRL tomorrow in Beverly Hills!

To whet your appetite for many of the themes we’ll cover tomorrow, today’s edition dives into the multiple ‘altcasts’ from the NFL & NBA, along with the Premier League launching a VR game, ‘Premier League Player’.

Contents: Edition #39

Without further ado…

ESPN + NFL Deliver Real-Time Simpsons Animated Game

ESPN & the NFL delivered "The Simpsons Funday Football" last night - blending live NFL action with the iconic Simpsons IP. The altcast reimagined the Bengals vs. Cowboys game in Springfield using real-time animation technology from Beyond Sports & skeletrack data from Hawkeye.

Characters like Homer and Bart became active participants, with ESPN personalities even appearing as animated Simpsons versions of themselves, offering play-by-play commentary.

Why You Should Care

In the words of Mr Burns - excellent…

Given this experience leverages tracking data creatively, incorporates iconic entertainment IP and has a healthy amount of puns dropped into the commentary for good measure, you won’t be surprised it ranks quite highly on the SEG3 approval-o-meter.

But this of course isn’t the first foray that ESPN/Disney have had in delivering an animated broadcast - they have done so previously with the NHL with Big City Greens (twice in fact).

And the crossover proved to be quite the hit, with results like:

Credit: ESPN/Disney

So what’s the objective for all the brands involved here?

  1. Introducing the sport to new audience

    Integrating iconic entertainment like the Simpsons and Big City Green helps to not only introduce and engage younger audiences to the sport (with the animated broadcast offering more interactivity and a hike in entertainment value), but also helps to attract lapsed Simpson & NFL fans intrigued by the concept and crossover back to both IPs, so can perhaps be seen as both an acquisition but also retention play.

    Off the back of the NHL x BCG collaboration, ESPN saw a pretty significant uptick in new audiences engaging with the content:

Credit: ESPN/Disney

And with this activation, spreading the message didn’t just stop at socials.

  1. Cross-platform activation
    The broadcast of this event wasn’t just confined to traditional channels however. ESPN also leveraged their Fortnite Football Island to offer another layer of social experiences for fans to interact and consume the show through.

Credit: ESPN/Disney

And my final point (and playing devils advocate slightly):

  1. The frequency of productions
    If there is demand and it is driving growth for the broadcaster, sports franchise & entertainment IP (which it currently seems to be!), the question now becomes about the frequency of the broadcasts. Is there a novelty factor that needs to be balanced? Will audiences continue to engage in the same way over a prolonged period of time or will it wear off? How Disney matching IPs to sports IP for the maximum impact?

    The other consideration (which is a good thing for ESPN/Disney) is that there is likely still a large moat surrounding this kind of production that means it is only possible for the big players for the timebeing.

    But given Disney’s unique spot of having considerable assets across the gamut of sports (with ESPN), entertainment (with a wealth of iconic IPs) & gaming (with the Epic Games investment), they should certainly continue making hay while the sun shines.

The key takeaway?

Whether it be the traditional broadcast and programming, the animated broadcast, or the Fortnite experience, Disney & ESPN understand that delivering tailored experiences that covers all bases and caters to numerous fans (and potential future fans) is essential for success in today’s day and age - so kudos to them.

Next up - the NBA’s ‘Dunk the Halls’ with Mickey Mouse on Christmas Day!

NBA 2K partners with TNT Sports and Genius for alternate broadcast

This collaboration between NBA 2K25, TNT Sports and Genius Sports delivered a new sports broadcast experience by integrating video game aesthetics into live basketball coverage. The Emirates NBA Cup Knockout Rounds are being presented in the style of NBA 2K, featuring iconic elements like shot meters, player icons and gaming-style overlays.

The broadcast also included commentary from basketball legends like Vince Carter and Candace Parker, with fans being able to earn in-game rewards while watching, making the experience more interactive.

Why you should care?

Much like The Simpsons x NFL highlights the merging of sports with entertainment, this too shows the symbiotic relationship between sports & games, and the cross-cultural impact it can have.

2K continues to be a staple of any self-respecting sports fans sim game collection, but much like EAFC, it is a game that attracts the casual fan, who may not be actively engaging with the NBA across any of its other channels (or even see themselves as a fan) - so gaming is their only touchpoint with this group.

But by bringing some of the favoured aspects and mechanics from the game to the broadcast, there’s a good chance (much like the Simpsons crossover) that it could pique the interest of that casual fan just enough that they’ll tune in to experience it.

The gamification of NBA match through 2K25 Datacast

And if experiencing your favourite aspects of the game being overlaid into the IRL broadcast wasn’t enough to incentivise you to tune in, perhaps being rewarded in-game for watching will be?

And that’s exactly what they’ve done:

“With the NBA 2K25 DataCast broadcasts, fans also have the opportunity to redeem six total NBA 2K25 Locker Codes each unlocking an Amethyst MyTEAM pack”

I have no doubts in my mind that building an ecosystem where fans are rewarded for interacting with your brand (and partners) is certainly the direction of travel - but for this to deliver actual value to the consumer, brands need to have detailed understanding of their fans consumption and engagement habits so they know what lever they need to pull to drive action at any given moment.

This means knowing which fans value in-game rewards, partner experiences, in-stadium experiences and so on - this insight is what will drive the next-level of fandom, and help the industry to unlock new revenue and business models that are sustainable for years to come.

The Premier League & Rezzil launch VR game

The Premier League Player has launched a VR game with Rezzil. At its heart are interactive game modes like "Moments," where you can recreate the season’s most unforgettable goals, and mini-games like "Headers" and "Shot Stopper," designed to test your reflexes and precision.

Alongside this for social players is the "Player Sanctuary", which offers a customizable hub where you can showcase trophies, compare stats, and hang out with other fans.

Why you should care

I mean, come on, who hasn’t tried to recreate their favourite sporting moments?

My friends and I still talk about the 1 of 10,000 attempts that we managed to perfect the famous Arjen Robben volley vs Manchester United.

So what the Premier League & Rezzil have delivered with Premier League Player certainly offers the potential for the next generation to become even more immersed into the most iconic moments from their favourite players, team and sport.

But there are a few considerations:

Training & recovery have so far been Rezzil’s bread & butter, working with a plethora of sports teams and leagues to help their players to train specific scenarios or recover from injury in a non-contact environment - with Premier League Player, alongside their launch of Exar.live, there seems to be a definitive shift to leveraging immersive to enhance fan experiences.

This is in-line with the Premier League’s focus as they have been experimenting with immersive to support fan experiences the last few years - an example being the AR Trophy Hunt experience last summer during their US tour, which they built alongside The Gang, which allowed fans to virtually "hunt" for trophies across 100 geo-targeted locations in key cities hosting Summer Series matches.

So given the Premier League is now across both AR & VR - what’s the difference?

Well, simply - the level of immersion possible & the accessibility.

AR is undoubtedly easier for fans given it is generally used via mobile, so can bring scale, but doesn’t offer the same level of immersion.

VR provides a much greater level of immersion, but requires investment into a headset, which makes it a smaller group to target (for the time being).

Despite this, it is estimated that there could be up to 1-1.5 million Meta Quest headsets in the UK, and with there generally being a dearth of high-quality games for those owners to engage with on Quest, the Premier League establishing a presence early to capture mind-share whilst offering a new way for their fans to engage with their favourite moments will only stand them in good stead for when the devices catch up with the vision.

In other news this week…

Working on anything cool, or have a press release you would like us to cover? Send it in for the chance for it to be covered in next week’s edition!

That’s all for now - thanks again for reading the latest edition of The SEG3 Report!

If you enjoyed it, please consider sharing it with a friend or colleague 🤝